Once Upon A Time.... A little boy and a little girl - childhood school friends - lost contact with each other for over a decade. Over this span of time, through joys and heartbreaks, successes and failures, realized dreams and dreams seemingly long lost - they both grew up. The little boy grew into a man and the little girl grew into a woman - totally unaware of their intertwining fate. Then, just when things were darkest and a great "plague" spread across the land, the man and the woman met again. The man and the woman got to know each other as friends all over again, little by little bringing kindness, laughter, radical acceptance, and fun into each other's lives. Their friendship grew and grew, just like they each had during their time apart, until the woman could no longer ignore the inexplicable goodness the man brought into her life. Though hesitant to open her heart and eyes to what was in front of her at first, the woman knew something precious was happening beyond her understanding. She decided to see the man in a whole new light, not as the goofy kid she knew from school, but as a man who showed her she was worthy - not too imperfect, not undeserving, not alone. The man and the woman fell madly for each other - at first slowly, but then SWIFTLY and their whole lives changed. On May 10th, they are each being blessed with a long awaited gift - getting to marry their best friend. I love you Alex Campbell - you are my love story and concert buddy for life <3 "I once believed love would be black and white, but it's golden" - Jenny He was a boy; she was a girl. Could I make it any more obvious?? He played lacrosse, she did ballet. What more can I say? Now, I know what you're thinking: Are those the lyrics to a song by the 2000s 8-time Grammy-nominated pop-punk artist Avril Lavigne?? And before you say anything, no, they are not. This is the story of a young, handsome, fun-loving boy who happened to meet and befriend his future wife before he could even go to a PG-13 movie on his own. But he didn't even know it yet! It was the fall of 2004; I was just starting my first year of 5th grade, and boy, was I excited! I was the big man on campus at Crabapple Crossing Elementary School (K-5th, Blue Ribbon School of Excellence - Go Colts!) I had been placed in the class of the teacher my older brother had the year before, and thankfully, he wasn't a troublemaker then (yet), so I already had a good reputation going in. I lucked out that year being in Ms. Wilson's class. About 3 or 4 of my closest friends at the time were also in that class, so I knew it would be a great year. Spoiler Alert: it was! There was also this one girl in that class who would end up changing my life for the better... forever. Her name was Jenny, and I had known her on a surface level, probably since the first grade. In those days, kids you went to school with pretty much stayed with you as you progressed. Sure, we lost the occasional kid to parents moving or famine, but I digress. I don't think we had been in the same class together up until that point, but that all changed that year because she WAS in my class that year! I'm happy to say we got to know each other much better over that year. I would be eternally grateful for that. The very next year, in the fall of 2005, I was entering 6th grade at the Big Boy Middle School: Northwestern Middle School. Go Wildcats! Anyhoo, it was a time of big changes - both in my body and in the social milieu of children's education. This was middle school; this was the big leagues! Sure, I was still a young, handsome, fun-loving boy, but now I had to really start considering my future. I was nervous going into that first day, but then I felt a ray of hope when I walked into my homeroom. Who was already sitting at my assigned table diligently writing in her pink agenda... with a pink pen... and pink ribbons in her hair? That's right, you guessed it! It was Jenny! My nerves were instantly soothed.

"I know her!" I thought as I took my seat. At that moment, I knew my time at this new school wouldn't be too bad, and I was also grateful they sorted kids alphabetically by surname for homeroom (Arasi and Campbell). She was truly a beacon of hope that first year for me. We had multiple classes together, and having just one person I knew and could honestly call a friend sitting next to me made all the difference in the world. We grew closer over the next 2 years, and our relationship, albeit just a friendship at the time, was one that I cherished. Sure, she may have only seen me as just another hot, funny jock boy, but at least I was someone she could also call a friend. That would eventually change, not for a while, but it would change. We remained close throughout high school even though we didn't have as many classes together as we'd had in middle school - we still ran in the same social circles. We'd see each other in the halls and at lunch (my best subject), just not as often as we used to. She still helped me out a lot, though, as I believe it was her math homework...and science homework...and lit homework...and any other classes I struggled with's homework that I copied from her almost every morning. What can I say? She was brilliant and a really great student who aspired for excellence, and I was drawn to that. She most definitely helped me get into UGA inadvertently, and I'm so thankful for her genius. Fast forward to college, and we're both attending the esteemed University of Georgia, home of the 2021-2022 back-to-back college football National Champion Bulldogs; Go Dawgs! Looking back, I now consider this time somewhat of my "Picasso's Blue Period." Not that I didn't have a great time - I did - maybe too much fun at times, but because I had completely lost contact with Jenny. We hadn't talked or really seen each other since graduating high school, and I had no idea what she had been up to. I'm sure deep down I really missed her because she had been a major part of my formative years. Finally, almost 10 years after high school, the stars would align, and we would reconnect. She started stalking me online and cyberbullying me by posing as a 300lb black man named Juicy. She really knew how to push my buttons, and after a while, I got fed up and demanded to meet this Juicy in person. I was all ready to kick this guy's ass heading to the park we'd said we'd meet at, but as I got there, who was sitting on the park bench? None other than Jenny! We laughed and laughed, and I didn't even care anymore about the cyberbullying. I knew she was just teasing, and I forgave her. We ended up reconnecting, and from there, the rest is history! Ok…maybe that wasn't really how we reconnected, but regardless, we did reconnect back in Atlanta, and our friendship picked back up from where we left off. We would meet up for drinks after work or go to a friend's house party together - one time we even stayed up all night long watching her favorite romantic comedies. Hanging out with her was effortless and I quickly developed strong feelings for her. Every weekend I could I would see if she wanted to do something together. I just wanted to be around her. Soon enough she began to see me as more than a friend and our "hang outs" turned into dates and spending weekends together. This fun-loving, handsome boy was now a fun-loving, handsome man who knew who he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. I had found my person, or rather found her again. My friend from school is now going to be my wife and my best friend in life! Alex Campbell Facility Inspector CGL Companies UGA '16 Organ Donor