Emily and Kimani met on a fateful afternoon on January 27, 2018. Although the two knew of each other through athletics and because of Smith College's extremely close-knit community, they moved into the same dorm, Gardiner House. A fluffy, red puppy, barely 2 months old named Lily brought the two together. After introducing themselves, the two saw each other more frequently throughout campus. At the end of their junior year, Emily and Kimani stayed on campus to work Reunion. On the first day, Emily somehow got a concussion from a paper towel roll; she was unable to work, so Kimani took this chance to check in on her as much as possible. After two weeks, they became good friends and went their separate ways for summer break: Kimani went to New Jersey, and Emily went to Fiji. Kimani would take another friendly chance to check in on Emily during her trip; this proved a good idea for Kimani as Emily went on to dream about Kimani one fateful night when she got home. Kimani was in, like flinn. The two texted nonstop for two weeks before Kimani had to return for volleyball preseason. One night, Kimani asked why Emily constantly texted him back. Emily responded, "Omg, Kimani, are you flirting with me?" To which Kimani said, “haha no.” The rest is history, as they say! During their senior year, the two had difficult fall seasons and leaned on each other more than they thought they might need. Kimani studied abroad in Geneva, Switzerland, for six months during the second semester. Although they started dating in September, they decided to stay together and try to see each other as much as possible. It wasn't easy, but they met during Emily and Kimani's spring break. After going home to see their parents, the first person Kimani wanted to see was Emily. Due to COVID, the two had to devise an idea on the fly and knew they didn't want to be separated during lockdown. Thanks to John and Julie, they stayed in the Barn and finished out their senior year. After graduation on the front lawn, they moved to South Windsor, Connecticut, the midpoint between Springfield, Massachusetts (Kimani's job with TFA) and UCONN (Emily's postbacc program). Was it their first time living together? No. Was it a new adventure? Absolutely. The couple put as much effort as possible into their one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment, making it feel like a mansion. After two years, Emily was accepted into Emory's accelerated Nursing program. The couple was on the move again. In Atlanta, they moved three times before they set roots. Even though some houses were not what they had signed up for, a theme was becoming clear: as long as Emily and Kimani had each other (plus their pets), they would be fine. In their seven years together, they've added three members to their duo: Lily (the princess), Minnie (the judge), and Myrte (the lady of the night). They have traveled to multiple countries together, Bonaire being their favorite. They have taken on new hobbies together (look out for them on the pickleball court). This is just the beginning. We're so excited to have you at this pinnacle of our relationship; there's no one else we'd like to share it with. Thank you for all the love and light you have poured into us over the years. Here's to combining our two families!