We’re finally getting married!

I remember the first day I laid eyes on Daniel like it was yesterday. I remember where I was, what the weather was like, and what Daniel was wearing and doing. Most of all, I remember the overwhelming feeling I had the first time I laid eyes on him. It was my sophomore year at Valley High School in West Des Moines, IA and it was a beautiful Fall day. The school day was over and I was standing across the street. The first time I saw Daniel, he was wearing blue jeans, brown cowboy boots, an orange button down shirt, and his dads’ tan carhartt jacket. My friend Promise was handing him a movie he’d asked to borrow, which I later learned was Mulan. I found myself unable to look away from him and my entire body filled with this intense feeling where the whole world faded out and all I could see was him. It’s a feeling I’ve always struggled to describe, but in that moment all I knew, with every ounce of my being, was that I needed to know who he was. After that, I made sure Promise introduced us and I made it a priority to learn as much about him as I could. Before long, we were texting constantly, hanging out every single day, I was reading his poetry, we’d play 21 questions, and every night he’d tell me a made up story until I fell asleep. I’d never felt about anyone the way I felt, and still feel, about him. Even though I was only 15, it wasn’t long before I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. Now here we are, over 8 years later, and I am marrying my best friend and high school sweetheart.