Amidst a group of people who hardly knew one another, we were both in the same area of a casual mixer. Neither of us were very social at the time (both relatively angsty and, literally speaking, Sophomoric). It came to a head when a reserved James decided to break the ice with Whitney who, quite deceptively, seemed much more outgoing and sociable. He gulped, searching his mind for something relevant to say. “Is this suede?” “What?” she replied. “What fabric is your sleeve?” “Oh… yeah, suede!” an answer from her! This is all going so well. “Can I touch it?” was what he had to say next apparently. “Sure…” and the spark was lit. Jokes! Initially, we did meet playing pool. James, oddly fascinated, asked to touch Whitney’s sleeve to determine the fabric type and that’s how it all began. The truth is that we became acquainted at that moment and Whitney asked James out before we arrived more safely at friends. We stayed friends and both matured and became more comfortable around one another, as neither of us were comfortable with ourselves at the time of our chance encounter. Slowly, we began to discover a natural chemistry. We found a similar unique humor and a rock-solid value alignment (the variety of both where you make knowing eye contact across a room).

Eventually, we started to arrange meet-ups more frequently that cautiously but straightforwardly transitioned into dates. We had only two months before we went off to our own study abroad experiences, so we really started out with long distance. Our most treasured of these dates, and the one we celebrate as our anniversary, went all wrong. James picked Whitney up with a list of options, but most were already closed and the rest were prohibited because Whitney was still underage. We forcibly selected the Music Box, an indie theater in Chicago, but Whitney routed us to the corporate headquarters for the theater. The night was a series of further mishaps from there, including losing the car and not even being allowed to enter the theater when we arrived late. It was uncharacteristic of these dates and discouraging because we both wanted it to "go well." We ended up cutting our losses and went to kick back at the lake shore where you can see the skyline. We had dropped our masks completely by the time we arrived. We openly shared our fears during this season of life with one another. The date mishaps and sincerity experienced that night broke the ice we had been knocking at for years. Then, Whitney to Senegal and James to drive the length of Latin America. These were volatile times of growth in our lives and in our families, but with the internet, and the bedrock of conversational realness and vulnerability, we organically grew a lasting connection as we went through these changes together.

James lived in Damascus, Syria in 2022 for work. During one of his R&R breaks, Whitney flew out to visit and met him in Lebanon, which is more accessible to travelers. We had previously discussed that the timing of an engagement would be up to James. However, with the help of some half-truths and Ashley and Emily's stealthiness, Whitney was completely unaware that she was actually flying across the world with her own engagement ring hidden in her bag. Our stay was in Wadi Qadisha, which is gorgeous. We were surrounded by mountains and waterfalls that cascaded into a lush valley that sheltered ancient mystics and first-century monks. We were guided by hosts to hike the mountains, explore ancient ruins, visit strangers' homes, join in raucous celebrations, and eat delicious food. Midweek, we were engaged at a sunrise lookout. In fact, Whitney was so tired and surprised that her response was a repeated, “Are you serious?” with tears streaming down a terrifyingly deadpan face. She was still tired in the early morning, and James didn’t sleep the night before at all, so we celebrated our engagement by going to the sea and napping on the cliffs like seagulls until evening. We visited wine country and paired our spoils with macaroni. An engagement didn't have to be all that storied or memorable for either of us, but it was and it was pitch perfect too. The timing and setting felt perfect for us and we already feel excited that we will match this at our wedding celebration.