The Future Mentzels

It all started in 2021, the start of our senior year of college. Though it could have started many times before with us having had many instances to meet when the time was not right, including in class where Gabby was supposed to peer review a paper Dylan did not write, but that's a story for another time. Back to their senior year, fate had a funny way of bringing Gabby and Dylan back together. It wasn’t in a meet-cute at a coffee shop or a chance encounter in the library—it was when Gabby became Dylan’s boss. A fact she still reminds him of, often with a playful grin. What began as a working relationship quickly deepened. Amid the chaos of senior year something quiet but undeniable grew between them. Their friendship strengthened with every shared laugh, every inside joke, and every late-night conversation. The feelings they tried to ignore only grew stronger, even as they insisted they were “just friends.” So much so that when Gabby invited Dylan to her sorority formal, they still stuck to the story. By the time Gabby's graduation rolled around, the truth could no longer be denied. On May 20, 2022, they stopped pretending and officially started dating. But love, as they quickly learned, isn’t always easy. Only three months later, life pulled them in different directions—Gabby moved 7.5 hours away to Ypsilanti, Michigan for graduate school, while Dylan began student teaching in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It was the start of a long-distance relationship that would test them in all the ways that matter—but also shape them into something unshakable. They found time for each other in every way they could—weekend visits and late-night FaceTimes became a staple for them. They became each other’s biggest cheerleaders: Gabby, celebrating every milestone Dylan hit in his first teaching job, and Dylan, always there for Gabby through the grind of graduate school. They weathered tough times with the comfort of knowing they were never alone. In December 2024, a shift came. Gabby moved back in with her parents to complete her final internship—bringing them only two hours apart. After years of long distance, it felt like the universe was finally on their side. Then, the moment they’d both been waiting for. The day before Gabby’s graduation, Dylan dropped to one knee and proposed—in the most “Dylan” way possible: with a plan that he had Gabby craft herself. It was sweet, funny, imperfectly perfect… and exactly how their love story was always meant to unfold.