We both have had dreams and aspirations for doing bigger and better things in life. Sharing a common desire to give back to our family and nation, we decided to chase higher education and become members of the world's greatest Air Force. A true honor and privilege if you will. That being said, a little more than two years ago, we embarked on these separate journeys to fulfill our own respective desires, but when we crossed paths at Penn State, two journeys ultimately merged to become one. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I remember it like it was just yesterday. Our journey began on an August day in 2016 when we were in a classroom for an icebreaker game during an ROTC orientation program. As people entered this classroom, they gathered chairs and placed them in a circle in order to sit side-by-side one another. The chairs in the circle were slowly filling up when she walked in. She was absolutely stunning and sat down right across from me. More people came and the circle filled. At this point the icebreaker game had begun and people were talking about who they were, where they came from, what they wanted to do and more. When it was her turn, what can I say, I was captivated. She was driven, well spoken, kind, beautiful and unique... A couple more people talked and then it was my turn... As I explained who I was, where I came from and what I wanted to do, she noticed me and our eyes met for the very first time... I remember getting super nervous because this mutual gaze made me feel something I had never felt before, it was exciting, I smiled, then we both smiled and I knew she was feeling the same thing I was. It was a good feeling, it was special, it was love at first sight.

Since that day in August, things have really taken off for us. Each day we learn more and more about each other, but the biggest thing we have come to realize is that we are able to do so much more as a team, rather than individuals. We do the best we can to pace and push each other on a daily basis. We encourage, support and always see the good in each other. In doing so, we become stronger, wiser, and we strive to be better versions of ourselves each and every single day. We have the perfect balance because we have fostered a support system for each other that allows us to grow and continue on our journey through life.

Every day, for months leading up to the proposal, I would ask Josh just one question; "When are you going to ask me?" For awhile he responded with, "sometime between now and when I ask you," and eventually it changed to, "soon." The anticipation continued to build for both of us. The night before he asked me to marry him, we were joking around when I said to him, "what happens if I say no?" He replied with, "then I guess I'll throw the ring in the ocean." I had known he was taking me to the beach the next day so he gave me quite a large hint. The next day at the beach, I think I drove him crazy! I kept asking if he wanted to go for a walk or if he wanted us to be alone. At one point, he pretended that we were going to leave at which point I got nervous that I frustrated him enough for him to not do it. Fortunately he was kidding and finally, he asked me to go for a walk. He snuck something out of his backpack, grabbed my hand, and led us down the beach toward one of the jetties. At this point I knew what was happening and he knew he had to throw me off somehow. We walk out on the jetty, Josh almost falls and cuts his foot, but that wasn't going to stop him from asking the best question of his life. Josh pulled out his phone, put on one of our favorite songs, got down on one knee, and pulled out this small black box. He casually asked me to marry him, which threw me off, and then opened the box to reveal a piece of candy of all things! I freaked out and looked a way at which point he grabbed my hand and pulled me back around. Now he had this beautiful, hand-crafted box from his time spent in India over the summer. He unscrewed the lid to reveal the ring. He proposed, I said yes, we took a selfie (naturally) to capture the moment, and headed back towards the beach. We made it safely down off the rocks, had one lone fan clapping and whistling for us, and the rest is history. Needless to say, it was the best "yes" of my life.

We came from separate homes, but home became Penn State, and then home was where ever we were together. With this said, Joshua will have a one-year assignment working as a Gold Bar Recruiter in the Miami, FL area as Alexandra completes her bachelors degree in Industrial Engineering from Penn State. After Joshua's one year assignment and upon completion of Alexandra's bachelors degree, the happily married couple will go off into the wild blue yonder to begin their Air Force careers and happy life together.