Instead of co-writing a single story, we thought it would be fun for each of us to write our stories and compare notes... Read them below!

We met my freshman year of high school (her sophomore year). Technically, we met the summer before my freshman year at drumline practice. I think we met at a time when we both needed new friends in our lives, so we bonded really quickly. I had never been as open with anyone before in my life as I was with her, and I’ve never met anyone else who’s so supportive and empathetic and caring. She was pretty immediately my best friend. I always envisioned us dating (even getting married) at some point down the road, but it didn’t happen right away. When we finally went on our first date (a year and a half later), it wasn’t actually a date at first. I remember not being sure if she was interested in dating me or not. But we didn’t usually do things just the two of us, so I made sure I was ready to make it into a date if we wanted it to be. I’m pretty sure I left my bag of stuff in the car when I got dropped off; my dad had to come back and give it to me. I don’t actually remember what I had in there. Anyway, we went ice skating, and we both wanted it to be a date, so then we went to dinner and saw a movie and got ice cream and (for some reason) jellybeans and then went stargazing and we ended up spending like 12 hours or something together and it was amazing. One of the best days of my life. We went to Disney World with the marching band shortly after we started dating. Right before that, though, we drove out to some state park somewhere and walked out onto a frozen lake. That was a lot of fun. If the timing hadn’t worked out so well with our trip to Yosemite, that’s probably where I would have proposed to her. Long distance was really hard. We weren’t able to see each other very often, and communication was difficult. But we were both too stubborn to give up on each other. Our relationship didn’t just happen; we actively chose to be together. My sophomore year she came and stayed with me over spring break at UC. That’s when COVID happened, so after spring break, neither of us went back to campus. I was supposed to do research that summer, so she was going to stay with me in Cincinnati. We found an apartment for the summer, moved in together, and then everything shut down. After that, her school went 100% remote, so we stayed in our apartment and were able to keep living with each other. That apartment didn’t have heat (bad), so we moved to a different one near campus that Christmas. That apartment was terribly leaky, and as it got warmer we had all manner of unwelcome visitors (mostly centipedes, but also a sneaky little taco mouse!). So we moved again that summer and stayed for a year in Mason. In 2022, we moved to Columbus, and we love this apartment! That fall, we started planning our trip to San Francisco the following June, and I didn’t think it would be feasible to plan a proposal in that time frame. I thought the jeweler would need four to six months to create an engagement ring, but when I went to the jeweler at the end of April to design it, he said he could have it ready for me in as little as 4 days if needed! So I spent every Monday that May driving up to Cleveland for appointments with the jeweler and trying to come up with a plan for the proposal. I knew she wanted pictures of the proposal, so I looked for places in San Francisco to do it, but it really felt like Yosemite would be way cooler and would hold more meaning for both of us. I finally settled on using a phone tripod to take a video of it and hoped everything would work out. While we didn’t get the awesome backdrop I was hoping for because of the fog, it ended up being a magical, private moment. Much like that frozen lake, that little spot off the old coach road feels like it exists somewhere outside of reality.

Preface: This was really hard for me to write. How did you meet your best friend? How did you fall in love? Can you give us every major detail of your relationship? Gosh, there's so much to say (literally about ten years' worth of stuff). I'll do my best. We met Brian's freshman year at drumline practice; we quickly became best friends. About a year later, we started dating. High school had its ups and downs, but we stayed inseparable. We supported each other at graduations, honors ceremonies, band concerts, and my debut in the theater—we even went to prom together (twice!). We have always known that life was *way* better with each other than without each other, and we knew that we would do whatever it took to make our relationship work—through long-distance in high school and college and then while attending different colleges—even during the global pandemic. We moved in together in May of 2020, but being locked up in *our apartment* for the first time wasn't awful; it was (genuinely) the best summer ever. It was like one big sleepover that never ended—and still hasn't. When I was in high school, I always thought the first apartment you moved into would be gorgeous and fully furnished (spoiler: it's not going to be). I know now, too, that the second apartment probably won’t be any different. But, our bed is no longer 6 inches off the ground like it once was—no longer do we store our silverware in a plastic cup on the kitchen counter—nor do we eat a single potato and couscous for dinner like we did (for many nights) when we first moved in together. We've known each other for so long, and we’ve both changed as individuals in that time, but it’s been a blessing to be able to grow and change together. Since we’ve moved in together, we’ve learned a lot about each other, and we've continued to grow even more. We've learned each other's nuances and pet peeves; we learned how to cook for ourselves (Brian made me tacos the first time we cooked in our first apartment); and we've learned what it's like to do (and fold! and put away!) double the amount of laundry than what we were doing for ourselves in college. Most importantly, I think we've figured out what it means to truly work together—on the good days and on the hard ones, too. We've created a life together, and it's been a beautiful process. Here's what I actually want to tell you about: The first time I saw Brian, I was filling in as the cymbal squad leader at drumline practice. I don't believe in love at first sight as a concept, but when I say that I knew he was someone special as soon as I saw him, you have to believe me. Brian and I became fast friends, and he was soon my closest confidant. Eventually, we were inseparable. People expected us to arrive and leave parties together. We spent hours driving around, talking about anything and everything. And now, I can finally admit that I used to make him miss the bus in the afternoon so I could drive him home after school. Oops. Sorry, not sorry. Eventually, we went on a "Saturday excursion" together. It didn't start as a date, but somewhere in the middle, it became one—and we were both aware of it. On this first date, we went ice skating at the Kent State ice rink, then hopped over to Yours Truly for lunch. Then we went to Hershey's Ice Cream in Hudson. I don't know if we got ice cream, but I know we got a box of Jellybeans. From there, we went to the Ledges at CVNP. Brian showed me how to find the constellation Orion in the sky, and we sat there and stargazed for a bit on the hood of my car. We went to the 10:25 showing of "Hail, Caesar." I hated it. He liked it. (I actually don't know if I even watched the movie that night—I was so nervous to hold his hand.) We kissed for the first time in the parking lot after the movie. He's always been my best friend. And that's the beginning and end of everything. English teacher sidebar—Did I answer the prompt? Kind of. Did you get a good story? Absolutely.

How did you first meet? TL;DR: Drumline, Brian's freshman year. What's been your most memorable date? Our first date! We spent nearly 12 hours together that day. What's your favorite activity together? We play board games! Currently, we have more than 30 board games in our apartment. What's your guys' pizza order? Pepperoni, no sauce. We both think pizza sauce is gross. Who's more likely to take out the trash? Brian. It's Brian. But Morgan will replace the trashbag! Where are you going for your honeymoon? Northern Italy! Our trip includes Florence, Venice, and the Dolomites (the mountains). What's the best meal you've eaten together? After we returned to San Fransico after getting engaged, we went to Spruce, a Michelin-star-rated restaurant. It was an incredible four-course meal! Morgan ordered steak, and Brian ordered duck. Who's more stubborn? That depends on who you ask—and what day of the week it is.