Our story began four and a half years ago while Liam and I were both attending Texas A&M University (Whoop!). After the COVID shutdowns, we each found our way back to College Station, and I decided to move into a house with two random roommates. By pure coincidence, I happened to be moving into the bedroom of my future husband’s then-girlfriend after she moved out. Before long, one of my roommates introduced me to her friend group consisting of the old roommate and, of course, her very cute but, sadly, taken boyfriend. We all eventually grew close as we navigated college and life together, and, when Liam and his girlfriend went their separate ways, our group became smaller, allowing us to all grow even closer. It didn’t take long for us to start crushing on each other, but somehow the timing was never quite on our side. We stayed friends throughout the last few years of college, both hoping the timing might finally work out but after graduation we went our separate ways—moving to new cities, learning how to “adult” on our own, and accepting that maybe we simply weren’t meant to be. I eventually ended up in Huntsville, TX of all places, looking for a fresh start after a challenging first year on my own. As luck would have it, that whole group happened to live nearby so before long, we were all hanging out again. After months of us all getting together, those old sparks began to reignite, and soon me and Liam were in near-constant communication. One day, I unknowingly sealed my fate while talking to Liam on the phone and playing Mario Bros. I confidently stated that I could easily beat him and, despite living two towns over, Liam was knocking on my door within the hour, ready to accept the challenge. (For the record: I beat him .... easily). From that point on, we were inseparable spending our entire New Year’s break together baking cookies, laughing, and playing games. On New Year’s Day, we stayed up all night talking about our dreams, our goals, and the future. By the end of the night, we realized how many years we had spent waiting for the timing to be right. So, when the ball dropped and we welcomed in 2024, we did so together, promising to not waste another year apart. Our first official date? A hike at Huntsville State Park, the very place where, on April 18th, we will promise to spend the rest of our lives together.