It feels like our story was divinely written. After 19 years, two paths, one from Houston, TX and another from Salem, OR, came together in the small town of Waco, TX. Two closeted, gay boys finding love in the middle of America’s Bible Belt at a notoriously religious university.. Truly, who else could’ve written this? In the Spring of 2015, we met while in a leadership course as we were preparing to spend the summer together welcoming incoming students. We have different recollections of our first meeting. Curtis would describe it as a friendly first step to a lifetime of romance. However, Omar would say Curtis came off too confident and arrogant. But reader, is it arrogance if it’s true? After a mixed-first impression, we spent the summer building something special. Being closeted allowed us to invest in a genuine friendship before we ever considered that something more could be there. According to Omar, he was oblivious to the quiet signals of a potential romance but Curtis swears he was just playing hard to get. At first, our relationship was solely stolen glances and clandestine meetings, or the occasional group gathering where we tried to play off that we were just "really good friends". The secret became something beautiful and terrifying as we navigated what it meant to be in a same-sex relationship. But as our feelings grew deeper, and our love began to grow, we knew this was not a relationship we could continue to hide much longer. Graduation brought us to the start of four VERY long years of long-distance. Curtis found himself in Colorado studying student affairs, and Omar was studying law in New York. These four years allowed us to grow individually and learn how to live in our authentic truth. Coming out during that time was a deeply freeing moment for both of us but being apart tested us in ways we weren't quite prepared for. Long distance became our new normal. Airports, phone calls, blurry FaceTime dates, and counting down the weeks until the next visit. We grew not just as individuals, but also in our understanding of what it means to choose love daily, even when it’s hard. There were moments of loneliness, miscommunication, and the ache of wanting nothing more than to just come home to be with each other after a long day. Life demanded a lot from us individually, and there were moments when the distance felt heavier than we could sustain. Not to mention, the weight of a pandemic introduced a new layer of uncertainty and anxiety that we had to navigate together. But through it all, we kept choosing each other over and over again. Today, our lives look very different than they did ten years ago! We’ve grown into fuller versions of ourselves. And after finally closing the distance gap and moving to NYC, we’ve started building the life we always dreamt of. Whether its gallivanting across the city with our gaggle of gays, soaking up the sun at the beach, attending 3 concerts in one week, or cuddling on the couch watching Scream, these shared moments help us build the foundation on which our relationship can sit on. The way we laugh, the way we show up for each other, even the way we argue all feels like home. And now, surrounded by a city that celebrates love in all its forms and a community that lifts us up, we're not just surviving, we're thriving. Long distance is in our rearview and now we get to enjoy why we fought so hard to get to where we are today. To everyone who’s cheered us on and loved us through every version of ourselves, we thank you. We wouldn't be here without you and we can’t wait to celebrate this next chapter with you by our sides. With Love, The future Mosqueda-Johnson's "And love was right in my path, in my grasp. And me and you belong."

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