Ethan and I met in middle school after he moved from East Providence to Rehoboth. Somehow we ended up in every single 6th grade class together and became instant friends. That friendship carried into 7th grade, and on March 26, 2016, during a mall date, he asked me to be his girlfriend. We grew up together from there. In middle school our “dates” were movies, haunted houses, mall hangouts, and big group outings with friends. We also saw each other at Pop Warner with him playing football and me cheering on the sidelines. High school gave us more freedom and more adventures. We explored Providence and Boston, went to concerts and arcades, tried new restaurants, and cheered on the Red Sox, Celtics, and Patriots. We also started traveling together to places like New Hampshire and Florida. Those trips quickly became some of our favorite memories. When college came around, life got busier. Ethan started working as an electrician, and I began nursing school. He supported me through all of the stress, helping with laundry, making meals, quizzing me for exams, and supporting me at my college football games where I continued to cheer. I knew at this point that he was my rock. In 2024, after I graduated, we went to São Miguel, Portugal. On Santa Barbara Beach, Ethan proposed. I was mostly surprised, but if you know Ethan, you know he’s not exactly the best secret keeper. Even so, the moment was perfect. We celebrated that night with dinner and sangria at A Tasca, a memory we will never forget. A decade after that first mall date, we cannot wait to start the next chapter as husband and wife.