Before we ever officially met, our paths had already started to cross. As drum majors of our neighboring high school marching bands, we had our very first (albeit brief) encounter at a Toms River East home football game. Nicole, ever the gracious host, brought over Oreos to share with Kevin and his visiting Howell High School bandmates. Little did we know that this simple act of cookie diplomacy would be the opening note to our love story. Fast forward two years to the fall of 2014, and we found ourselves formally introduced in the University of Delaware Music Department. Nicole was a sophomore, Kevin a freshman. Our shared passion for music quickly created a bond, as we performed in ensembles together, attended Sigma Alpha Iota (SAI) and Phi Mu Alpha (PMA) events, and belted out pop punk classics on car rides. Nicole handily claimed victory in many a Super Smash Bros match, and we shared both laughs and frights one chilly night over winter session while trauma-bonding over a viewing of The Shining. In 2017, our first official date took us to the beautiful Longwood Gardens. But it wasn’t until the University of Delaware Symphony Orchestra (UDSO) China tour that our relationship truly blossomed. Performing across cities like Beijing and Shanghai, climbing the Great Wall, partying at a 7-Eleven-themed club, and consuming far too much orange chicken all played their part in bringing us together. Before Nicole left for a family reunion trip in France, she asked Kevin to promise he would still be there when she returned. He kept that promise, and we’ve been together ever since. Our journey together has already taken us around the world—Puerto Rico, Ireland, Japan, the Dominican Republic—and we can’t wait to be forever travel buddies. We’ve remained active in the music and marching arts communities, performing together in community band, teaching on the same staffs at both the high school and drum & bugle corps levels, and even marching a season together with Fusion Core in 2019. Back home, our little family grew with the arrival of our cat Clove, who brings us endless joy (and also frequent chaos, depending on her hunger levels). We also rediscovered our mutual lifelong love for reading, proudly building a home library together with over 200 books already. In April 2024, our biggest adventure yet began. Kevin, after over a year of secret planning, proposed to Nicole in Tokyo, under the cherry blossoms of Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. Though his freshly chopped man-bun and sudden enthusiasm for a photo shoot raised suspicions, the proposal was a dream come true. We celebrated by taking in the views from Tokyo Skytree, indulging in McDonald’s (because why not?), and visiting two Pokemon Centers in the same night—the start of a 5-Pokemon-Center spree during our trip. From marching fields to music halls, from far-flung adventures to cozy nights with our cat and a good book, our story is still unfolding—and we are so excited to write this next chapter together.