The fall of my Freshman year of college I was so excited to be in lab with a childhood friend that had moved away. The first day we sat next to each other and decided to be lab partners. However, the next week when I got to class people's schedules had changed and there was no longer a seat next to my friend. I looked around and saw an empty seat next to a guy. I sat down and introduced myself. He told me his name and then did not say 5 more words to me for the rest of class. Over the semester I probably talked his ear off since he wouldn't say much. The last day of class we got out around 5 and being November it was already dark. I remember Hunter walking me back to my dorm to make sure I got there safely since I would have had to walk alone otherwise. He had told me he was changing his major, so I never thought I would see him again after that day. Little did I know our story wasn't over!

On July 21st, 2020, I proposed to my best friend. I originally planned to ask her in October, but with the unknown surrounding COVID-19 and having been working from home for 4 months, I was ready to get out of the house. It worked out well because Kristen was scheduled to be off from school for the month of July. A few months prior, Kristen had casually mentioned that she had always wanted to go find waterfalls in the mountains and this gave me the idea to find the most perfect waterfall to propose in front of. After narrowing our vacation spot to Chattanooga, TN, I was on a mission to find the best waterfall the area has to offer, and I found it at Lula Lake Land & Trust (LLL&T). LLL&T offers a beautiful, 120-foot waterfall that is only open to the public a few times a month. After connecting with some awesome photographers, I was able to get private access where Kristen and I would have the area all to ourselves. On the day of the proposal , Kristen was under the assumption that we were on a private tour of LLL&T and would have photos taken during our adventure. As we made our way down a steep and rocky valley on Lookout Mountain, we were greeted with a spectacular view of the Lula Lake waterfall. Our photographers got us in position in front of the waterfall and began to take candid photos of us. Kristen and I were then instructed to turn around and look at the waterfall in all of its glory. This was my que to get on one knee. As Kristen was watching the rushing waters of the waterfall, I took a step back and got on one knee. Kristen turned around and with a tear in her eye said, “Are you serious?” To this day, we are not sure if Kristen said yes when I popped the question, but judging by her big smile and teary eyes, her answer was a “Yes”.