J: I thought he was absolutely crazy. He always zoomed around campus on his longboard, blasting afro music from his obnoxiously loud speakers. He had an inane number of friends and was mind blowingly social and friendly. D: I first saw Jane taking pictures of people at church and I was intrigued by the new student photographer everyone seemed to adore. When she asked for volunteers to help on the campus ministry tech team, I signed up. We built a lot of trust working together and we started talking a lot, sometimes about nothing, most times about everything. J: I was surprised to find we shared many similarities despite our backgrounds being worlds apart. He wasn’t just friendly and talented; he had an emotional and intellectual depth as well as a worldview that I found so refreshing and thought provoking. D: She’d quickly become one of my closest friends, and I didn’t expect that. I don’t think she did either. I started looking forward to her texts, or hoping we’d run into each other in the dining hall. We studied together a few times and I marveled at how she easily displayed more discipline and focus in a single hour than I did my entire life. J: In the fall of 2019, I spent a semester abroad in Singapore. Far from family and friends, Dikenna and I continued to talk. I was amazed, thankful, and leery of having such a close friend. D: I was in France at the same time, and that’s when I started catching feelings. She was extremely thoughtful and genuine. I was drawn by her uncircumstantial joy and admired the deep love and loyalty she had for her family and close friends. I wanted her in my life. I asked if she’d be open to being bf and gf. And she said she needed to think about it. J: After an emotionally tumultuous semester, we arrived back in the States. Through months of deep reflection, I had finally worked up the courage to tell Dikenna that I liked him. A mere week before COVID shook the world, he told me he wasn’t ready for a relationship since he was about to graduate and move to Seattle. The thought of long distance and the uncertainty of the future understandably freaked him out. Annnddd like the cold-hearted girl I was (ahem, am), I told him we never needed to speak again because I couldn’t bear the pain of it. D: It lowkey felt like a breakup. I missed her. A lot. Sometime in July, she called saying that it was okay if we continued speaking. J: He asked me out in Nov 2020 in the thick of the pandemic and we started the most challenging yet exciting years of long distance. Right after graduation, I decided to pick up and move to the other side of the country for a BOoOoOoOYyYyY and work 6am-2pm, just to be near him. Crazy that my parents encouraged me to do that, but also the best decision ever. D: The months I spent with Jane in Seattle were some of the most exciting in our relationship. She came with me to Nigeria. In the time since, we've traveled to Alaska, Berlin, Athens, Mykonos, Croatia, and each place has carried an even sweeter memory. D: After plans A, B, C, and D fell through (ask Jane about how many plans she inadvertently messed up), I asked her to marry me. “Are you serious?” She said so many times I thought she was gonna say no. The ring fit like a glove… an oversized glove. And the rest is history ;)