Our story started the way so many great love stories do—with a deep friendship. We were in the same 9th grade social studies class at Brainerd High School and became fast friends. We bonded over a shared love of music that couldn’t have looked more different on paper: Megan made Jake mixtapes of emo anthems; Jake introduced Megan to his vast repertoire of classic rock. After graduation, life pulled us in opposite directions. Megan headed to college in Minnesota while Jake joined the Navy, eventually finding himself on submarines in the Pacific, based out of Washington state. We lost touch for a few years until a shared Christmas break in 2014 brought us back into each other’s orbit. That reunion blossomed into a deep friendship and we decided to stay connected despite the distance. We became pen pals. Letters and emails crossed the country—from St. Olaf, then Florida to Washington state and even a metal tube in an undisclosed location in the Pacific Ocean. We shared music and movies, traded stories, and quietly kept a friendship alive for years across thousands of miles of ocean and land. Then came the summer of 2022. Megan landed a summer internship in Seattle, and suddenly we were in the same state for the first time in years. We spent every weekend together. From camping trips, to hikes, to bike adventures, and boating excursions on Lake Washington, that summer was pure magic. With a gentle nudge from Megan’s brother Cameron and sister-in-law Tara, what had always been there finally had room to grow.