We met in August of 2016 and officially started dating that November, during our senior year of college. The timing wasn’t ideal being so close to graduation, but lucky for us, I was too stubborn to be worried about timing. The next six months were filled with all the excitement that graduation brings, along with the uncertainty. After a lot more discussion, we chose to try long distance post-grad. I stayed put for a job in upstate SC, and Alli began a 6-month dietetics program, which meant she left for NY right after graduation. Alli spent three months there, one in Oregon, one in Minnesota, and finished up in Ghana. This period is when the postcards began! I bought about 15 while in Europe after graduation to share with Alli when I got back. We became semi-regular pen pals as a cute way to say ‘I Love You’ from hundreds of miles away. This first leg of long distance was definitely the toughest, but the postcards were a special surprise for us both. Long distance was tough to say the least, but we persevered and grew up quickly, and within a year of graduation, Alli had moved to Columbia, SC and I moved to Greenville, SC. This cut that extreme long distance down to a less than two hours. Another year of “medium distance” followed, and then I relocated to Columbia. My new apartment was 1.3 miles away from her house, but even from 4 minutes away, the postcards continued. The next eight months were the first since college of seeing each other regularly, and our relationship grew like a weed. Marriage quickly became realistic, and I used the last few postcards to journal about the things I couldn’t tell Alli- ring advice, telling my family, Mr. Howland’s blessing- all explained in writing. I proposed on Valentine’s Day 2020, and of course, Alli said yes! Afterwards, I shared the postcards explaining everything that had happened behind the scenes. Now, we’re getting married March 6, 2021 (which also happens to be my birthday), and would love for you to be there!