Emmanuel and I first met in early April 2009 in Georgia. He actually lived next door to my aunt, with whom I had a close relationship at the time. My aunt and I would often be on the phone together. Prior to physically meeting him, Emmanuel had been in the background during many of our phone conversations asking her to tell me to call him, text him, email him, or add him on MySpace (this was before Facebook and Instagram). Which I have only heard him over the phone, I haven’t seen him in person. I wasn’t particularly interested at first, but he was quite persistent in trying to get to know me. His determination was noticeable, almost like an annoying little gnat that wouldn’t go away. Eventually, I took a trip to Georgia for one of my father’s events and ended up visiting my aunt. During that visit, my dad’s truck got stuck in Emmanuel’s backyard, and he came out to help us. That’s when I finally met the persistent guy who had been in the background of our conversations. The first thing he said to me was, “Guh, you’re pretty”with that big smile and country accent. Being from Jersey I took it as an insult, I looked at him disgustedly and sarcastically asked, “Am I supposed to be ugly?” I still wasn’t interested at that point. I returned to Jersey to resume my schooling. As the school year was concluding, my aunt asked me to stay with her for the summer. I accepted and returned toward the end of May. Upon my arrival, that same persistent guy greeted me with a smile and said, “Hey, Guh,” instead of “Girl,” which made me smile. There was something about his southern charm that caught my attention. He invited me to his 25th birthday party, and my aunt and I attended. At that time, I didn't have any romantic feelings; I was simply going to a party. After the party, we casually continued talking. He started doing small things as weeks gone by like spending days with me despite his busy schedule during that time he cut it all for me, we went shopping together, enjoyed some nice meals, ice cream dates, caught a movie, especially during that time we watched the NBA playoffs. He also surprised me with flowers and cute little cards randomly, that stuff really meant a lot to me! We had an amazing time and made great memories a lot of laughs. I started to see him differently. I gradually became receptive to his genuine interest. We continued to talk over the following months, and on August 2, 2009, he asked me to be his girlfriend. I agreed, but I was hesitant because I wondered how a relationship would work with me living in one state and him in another. Nonetheless, we maintained our relationship, with him visiting me and me visiting him. Although being over 800 miles apart was challenging, we found ways to make it work. After expressing that I neither wanted children nor to get married, we are now here!!! The rest is history we are getting married. I can say that there have been both positive and challenging moments throughout this journey, but we have never allowed anything to divide us. I’m truly in love. I wouldn't change anything about our journey thus far, as it has led us to this point.