We initially met at the Air Force ROTC dinning in event at Randolph AFB. I was sitting with my flight, and Justin was sitting at our table with some of his flight-mates. He was sitting right next to me, and I started a conversation with him. We both discussed how we want to pursue the medical field. He wanted to pursue in nursing, and I wanted to pursue in physical therapy. Our second encounter was at the Basic Military Training graduation at Lakeland AFB. We talked about how we wanted to get together over the summer and established a summer session to prep our squadron for FTP semester. The sessions were successful! As time went on, he became my best wingman, friend, and soulmate. He is now, forever, my wingman.

Life is full of twists and turns. Sometimes, the unexpected are the best things about our own individual journeys, no matter how painful they might be. It all started when Destiny and I rode the same shuttle to an Air Force BMT graduation from UTSA. At the time, my right pinky was injured and any little movement with that finger was incredibly painful. Well, I hopped in the shuttle and this girl came in right after me. I buckled my seatbelt and put my hand beside me and she happened to sit next to me. When she did this, all of her weight was applied to my injured pinky! I was nearly brought to tears due to the pain and she had this puzzled look like, "why are you being so overdramatic?" It was at that moment I knew I had a new friend. Fast forward a few weeks and we are running buddies, gym buddies and study buddies. The more time we spent together, the more I grew as an adult. Destiny was one of the few people I had the ability to put my full trust in to keep me accountable for my academic and fitness goals. More time passed and we began inviting each other to family gatherings. She would hint often that she really liked me, but I would not budge. One Christmas, she got tired of waiting and decided to kiss me. It was at that moment I realized I had someone more than just a close friend.