When it comes to Sam and I, we don’t have a traditional ‘boy meets girl’ story. Sam and I first connected through Tinder. Yes, it had to be Tinder, and it was near the beginning of COVID. Like many individuals, we worked from home, were bored, and needed someone to talk to. As extroverts, our worst nightmare is being alone, so our match was incredibly timely. His first note to me? A gif of a man waving in a cage - two weeks in, and he was already going stir-crazy! I remember the smile it brought to my face and thought if someone could manage to do that at a time like this, they have to be worth talking to. We started chatting and instantly bonded over our love of music, film, and other nerdy things. We debated artists, genres, and who the bigger geek was. After talking non-stop on the app for a week, we began ‘virtually’ dating and got to know each other. What does virtual dating even look like? Well, it meant a standing FaceTime date where we’d chat with a cocktail in hand every Tuesday night around 7 pm. The first thing he said to me? “Oh good! You’re not a catfish!” After that initial date, these FaceTime happy hours went on for about six weeks, and I felt more at ease with each one. We got all the generic first-date awkwardness out of the way, and our first in-person date was the easiest, funniest, and most memorable one ever. I was moving to downtown Winston-Salem that May - my first time living solo! - and decided to invite him over once I felt settled. It was a great way to stay motivated about unpacking! Four days after moving, on May 19th, he brought over Foothills takeout and a bottle of my favorite wine - Pinot Noir - and we had the first of many meals at my kitchen bar top. I don’t know who was more impressed, me that he brought over my favorite wine, or him that I managed to unpack and clean my entire place entirely in four days. During the date, he wasn’t fazed by my big questions, like if he didn’t love kids, this couldn’t go anywhere, nor was I scared off by his talk of anime and other things I knew nothing about (although he quickly made me love anime, video games, and a manner of things I never thought I would). Above all else, we shared the same fundamental values and passions. We both love our friends and family. We both adore travel and living life to the fullest. Right then, I knew he would somehow change my life - little did I know how much. Since then, we’ve become a part of one another’s families, friendships, and lives. No matter what happens, we’re each other's biggest support system. Sam is a one-of-a-kind person, and I’m thankful to have him in my life. Whether in a room full of people or sitting on our couch, just the two of us, I always feel like the luckiest girl in the world.