Picture January of 2020. It's a bitingly cold Wednesday night, and classes are starting back for our Sophomore year. We had just got back from Winter break, and it was the first church service of the new year in Columbia. With 3 semesters under our belts and the prospect of future plans looming over us both, the pressure was on to get life figured out. For Kyle at least. He took one look at Megan and knew it was meant to be. A few months into the semester and several dates into the flirtation, it seemed very safe and appropriate to Kyle to ask Megan to be his girlfriend. In a dramatic turn of events, Megan friend-zoned him and said she was kinda burned out on relationships. Kyle was crestfallen, but not defeated yet. A summer goes by. Kyle still likes Megan. Megan still doesn't like Kyle. The Fall semester begins, and as Megan begins to see that Kyle may not be such a bad selection after all, Kyle successfully convinces himself he doesn't like Megan anymore. It's tragic really. October approaches. Megan bears her soul to Kyle a few days before Halloween. She explains very completely why she likes him all of a sudden (and claims that she actually liked him the whole time but just wasn't quite ready to accept it) but Kyle was sad and didn't feel up for a relationship himself. As gripping as that irony is, it's nothing compared to how "chill" Megan was for the next 8 months. Not giving up on him, Megan continued to hang out with Kyle as "good friends" with all kinds of underlying tension. The Fall and Spring semester of the 20/21 academic year pass. It's May. The sun came out, and Megan's ocean blue eyes sparkle in the Spring afternoon as they take a customary hike. A few weeks later, Kyle and Megan decide to watch the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. A truly romantic experience. Just as Legolas slays a troll, Kyle leans over to Megan and says "ya know I think I do like you." The rest is history.

Something Megan and Kyle do as a relationship tradition is night hiking. Even before they started dating, this was a favorite pass-time, because neither of them were super into watching TV, and who has time during the day to go on hikes when you've got a full semester load in college? The first night hike they ever went on was an experience neither of them would ever forget. It was blisteringly cold, but neither seemed to mind it too much. There was a bluff on the trail somewhere, and Megan had tries several times to find it to no avail. Knowing how horrific Kyle was at directions, but also just wanting an excuse to hang out with him, Megan invited Kyle to go try to find the bluff at night. Hours go by in the freezing temperatures, and finally they stumble upon the gorgeous overlook where you could see as many stars as the sky could offer. Almost exactly a year later, and at least 100 hikes later, it's another very cold December night. Concealed within Kyle's jacket was his Great-Grandmother's diamond ring. Megan completely oblivious to the heightened pace of Kyle's step, and expected nothing out of the ordinary when they got up to the bluff and Kyle took out his phone to set up a video. Megan goes in for a hug, but Kyle slides under her arms like a dolphin escaping the clutches of a big mamma orca. He gets on one knee, and tells her how much he loves, her and she says yes.