I spent quite a bit of time at USM's 3D Arts building my senior year of college, and developed a serious crush on a shy, beanie-wearing sculptor. Instead of studying, I would try to catch his eye and he would chug along, studiously oblivious to me the entire time (he would argue the opposite, but we're talking optics here). We only had one real interaction during this time, where he overheard me discussing my traumatic experience with Stephen King's It, which had just come out at the time. He made a snide comment about needing to have good taste to enjoy good movies, and I was hooked. All I wanted to do was argue with him about the merits of horror and jump scares and psychological damage from clowns (things I don't think I had ever wanted to discuss in my life prior to this moment). After this, still nothing from him! So a few weeks later, I bit the bullet and messaged him over Facebook to ask him to hang out (if you ask him, he will say he had been thinking about doing the same and that he should still get credit for that). Our first official hang-out was also at the studio, where I sat across from him nervously babbling while he worked on a piece for ceramics. We mutually agreed we would only talk about lighthearted things and save the deep talks for a different time (specifically, "Let's keep the past trauma talk to like, a four.") but after several hours, we moved the bar higher and higher, resulting in a "This one goes all the way up to eleven!" bit. I don't remember every little thing we talked about, but I do remember that I couldn't stop smiling.

Logan and I had talked about getting married since our first Valentine's Day together (when we had been dating about three months), but in the midst of finishing school and finding work post-graduation, we knew it would be a while. We weren't too worried about it, and we each had so much going on that we were just grateful for any time we got to spend together. Almost two years in, after many adventures in growing and evolving as people, we decided to pick out a ring. Together, we chose a 1940s Art Deco engagement ring that I haven't been able to stop staring at (even two years later). I left all the other details up to him, though I hinted HEAVILY that I would love a Christmas proposal, as it was my favorite holiday and all my loved ones would be near. He complained a little, because "everyone gets engaged on Christmas!" But he loves me, so Christmas morning 2019, after we had all opened our presents and were sitting around cozily, he spun out of his chair and onto the ground (upon reflection, a very cool move) and popped the question. I don't remember my thoughts in the moment, because my mom was screaming and looking for her camera, but I remember the exquisite joy of a promise. We've been engaged for two years now, and I have not regretted that promise once.