I first met Daniel in 2008 during his freshman year of college, at the University of Arkansas. He lived right across the hallway from my brother Jonathan, so that is when we became friends. It wasn't until January 2011, the spring semester of my freshman year, that Daniel saw me walking across campus, and asked me if I wanted to hang out via text message. It was an immediate YES, seeing how we always got along while hanging out with mutual friends in the past! After that day, we never stopped texting, hanging out, and being complete goofballs with each other. I knew something was special.

Since Julia's birthday was around the same time that I wanted to propose, I used that occasion as a cover to take her to Naples, Florida for the weekend. Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary's famous ghost orchid was in bloom and the sanctuary is a great place to learn about wildlife, conservation, and the ecology of Florida; so this outing was apart of our normal outdoor activities. After viewing the ghost orchid and walking along the board walk there was a benched area, secluded from the main boardwalk. I told Julia that we should take a picture here, so she set up her camera on the self timer. As soon as she ran back and the camera started to take several pictures, I dropped down to my knee and asked her to spend the rest of her life with me. Luckily she said yes, and I'm privileged enough to spend the rest of my life with her!