Cory and I met in college back in 2007. English 101 to be exact. It was love at first sight for both of us. We enjoyed spending time together, but didn’t get completely serious because I was enlisted in the Marine Corps and my ship date was fast approaching. In Bootcamp, Cory’s letters kept me going. They were the absolute highlights of my days. Unfortunately, we lost contact after my first post to Camp Pendleton, CA. It was heartbreaking. But at the time, I thought it was best because of the different paths we were working towards and the four years of distance between us that lay ahead. When I came home from the military, I settled down in Champlin and assumed Cory was long gone in South Dakota at his perfect little farm like he had talked about. I thought about him often, but I didn’t make much of an attempt to find him after life handed me a different path once again. But after five years of wondering, I finally decided I had to know what ever happened to my first love. As everyone knows, Cory is a ghost on the internet, and I did not have any luck. It was when I had finally given up, that on a random Sunday afternoon I decided to go out with my friends. Typically, Sundays were my Netflix and Chill days, but on this Sunday, my sister didn't pay her Netflix bill, so I was left with no choice but to go out. Cory and I ended up at the same restaurant. I didn’t recognize him at first with his hat and Hollywood shades, but definitely thought the guy across the bar was quite a hottie. When I realized it was Cory, I almost fainted from excitement and nerves. I basically flew over to talk to him. Who knew this whole time, we were almost neighbors, and never once ran into each other for 5 years. When we both found out that the other was single, there was no doubt or hesitation that we wanted to pick up where we left off, and we did.

It's the first day of College English, and this beautiful girl keeps turning around and giving me the eyes. I’m in love. Her name is Masha. Weeks go by and we begin to talk more and more, and I begin to look forward to that ONE class more than anything. Just to spend more time with Masha. Then one Sunday I head off to church with my folks and who do I just catch a glimpse of through the crowd? Masha. She has this smile that draws me in constantly, and I do anything to be around her for as long as I can. Stay late at school, show up to church events, and so on. We end up becoming very good friends. Always need more Masha. This goes on for awhile, and then she tells me she wants to become a United States Marine. I don’t think much about it until I take her to a few recruiting meetings and she is given a date to start Boot Camp. Boy am I confused- things were going so good and now she is leaving for years. Goodbye Masha.... We stayed in contact through the first stage of the Corp, but after Boot Camp we would continue our lives without each other. Masha and I were completely out of each other’s lives for 10 years. Then on August 6th, 2017, I was leaving a restaurant called Willy McCoys, when I looked over and saw her pulling in as I was leaving. I was with a friend at the time who knew well about my past with Masha, and he asked what I was going to do. I quickly dropped him off and returned alone in hopes of getting the opportunity to see how my long-lost crush was doing. When I arrived I looked inside and didn’t see her anywhere, so I was nervous that she had left. Then I remembered the outdoor patio where people sit. That’s where she was! I sat down across from her and smiled and took off my sunglasses, and next thing you know we were talking just like we used to. We found out we were both single and started dating immediately. Masha and I were back together after 10 years of no contact! What a great day.