Ellie and I met freshman year of high school in Coach Roepke’s Spanish II class. She sat in the front right of the class, and I sat in the back left, so we didn’t get to talk much. Although, I always thought that her hair and eyeliner were very cool. Later that year, on the cross country bus, Ellie made her move. She laid her head on my shoulder and "fell asleep" (later on I learned that she was only pretending). I guess that was the moment that sparked my interest, because a few months later, I found myself asking her to be my "Valentines". She accepted, probably because of the giant Hershey’s Kiss and the teddy bear I offered her. Shortly after this, I came to the self-realization that I had spent half of a year BEGGING, nae, PLEADING for her to go out with me. My persistence won out, and we began an epoch that has been filled with happy memories. - C

When Ellie and I went on our second date almost 9 years ago, I picked her up at her old house and we went to the Olive Garden in Utica Square (fancy!). On the way to drop her off at home, I hit a curb with my Jeep, and a small plastic part of the steering wheel fell off in the parking lot after the date. After an immeasurably long time spent reattaching the piece with added difficulty from my nerves, we drove to her house. On her front porch, I anxiously asked her if she would like to be my girlfriend (and she said yes!). On December 19, 2021, after asking her parents for their permission of course, I took Ellie to her old house yet again. Though I was nervous, I didn’t hit a curb this time around. Ellie thought that we were going to dinner with my parents. She was surprised at where I had driven to, as I had kept the destination a secret in an ingenious ploy to hide my motives. What Ellie couldn’t see were the absolutely epic proposal lines that I had written in my head, and the most solid of game plans that would guide me through this moment. What I had wanted to say to her was that: even though the house looks so different compared to all of those years ago, (and so did we) we have grown so much together. I wanted to tell her that I would like to spend the rest of my life with her, and then tell her how much I love her. All that I actually managed to choke out after getting down on one knee was “Ellie - Will you marry me?” (and she said yes!) - C