We first met in seventh grade, when fate (and a seating chart) placed us side by side. The next year, it happened again—another class, another seat right next to each other. After middle school, life took us in different directions, but destiny wasn’t finished weaving our story. By junior year of high school, a few mutual friends helped us reconnect, and by senior year, we went on our first date. Still, we were hesitant—unsure about what the future held as we prepared to leave for college. But fate, and maybe that invisible red thread, had other plans. Jack came from a long line of Red Raiders, and Mikalyn wanted to spend time in Lubbock with her grandparents. When we both chose to attend Texas Tech, everything fell perfectly into place—and the rest, as they say, is history. True love always finds its way.