We’re a COVID couple, we met right at the start of the pandemic in 2020. If that wasn’t enough of a reason to not hang out with someone, I don’t know what is. But somehow, we clicked. We started texting every day, and even though we couldn’t see each other at first, we stayed close. He got me into Animal Crossing, and we’d send each other cute letters in the game like we were already dating. Eventually, we decided to meet but everything was closed. So, I convinced him to come over and meet my family. He was hesitant and nervous, but we had no other option. On our first hangout, he helped me run an errand to Best Buy, he still roasts me about this everyday btw but hey, a girl needed something from best buy haha! That first year was tough, we couldn’t see each other often because of COVID but we made it work. When the world began opening up, we started doing all the things we loved: going to music festivals, skimboarding, snowboarding, working out, taking road trips, and visiting national parks. We even brought our loved ones along to share in our adventures. In 2022, Jestone moved in with me. Learning to live together was a whole new challenge, it was really tough at first. We had to figure out how to share space and build a rhythm, but it made our bond stronger. When we got our dog Nuna in 2023, we started the adventure all over again with her. We showed her our favorite places and gave her a life filled with love and discovery. We’ve stood by each other through it all. When I lost my grandpa “Daddy,” who was a father figure to us, I hit one of my lowest points. But Jestone was there, steady and kind. Even in my grief, I kept working on my portfolio to get into my dream school and when I got in, I knew I couldn’t have done it without his support. Eventually it was time to take our relationship to the next level. He proposed to me in Hawaii just after my birthday. I kinda knew the entire time because there were clues, but it was still so exciting! I felt in my heart that we were both ready for more, for this next chapter in our lives. I love this relationship because we push each other to grow and no matter what life throws at us, we come back stronger. Our relationship is built on a lot of things, but the most important of them is trust. We will always choose each other, and nuna!