June 15, 2024

I was an awkward eighth-grader at Lakeside Middle School and she was in my science class… I would have never imagined that class would be the most significant circumstance I’ve ever found myself in. I had a massive crush but I was terribly shy and unable to say a word to her. Talking to anyone else was easy, but she froze me. So I resorted to my little comedy routine in class, the success of which was measured by whether or not Reagan was laughing along with everyone else. My eighth grade logic seemed to be working because she laughed a lot. She was the only audience that mattered. I finally mustered up some courage to ask her to the eighth grade dance. She said yes, then *texted me* to tell me NO. Heart broken before freshman year, little eighth grade me had to move on. That was a delusional goal from the start. Most of my high school years were spent hopelessly into Reagan, but surely college would be the time to forget about her. I tried as best as I could, but more frequently than I’d hoped I just couldn’t stop wondering… what if I had been a little more bold? What if I asked her out in high school? What if we had gone to that stupid dance? This followed by a series of points to the contrary. Conclusion: it just wouldn’t have made sense. Move on. I didn’t realize then that I just had to wait, that we were both waiting. The summer of 2020 changed my life. I was home early from college and I knew Reagan was too. So I did what most normal people do when they haven’t spoken to someone in years, I picked up my phone and facetimed Reagan Smith… she picked up. During and after our first date, we had so much to say to one another. It was absolutely effortless to be together. That summer, just the two of us, was unbelievable. We hiked as much as we could, went on late night walks to Lakeside Middle School, explored the city of Atlanta, and constantly reflected on how unbelievable it was for us to be working out. I fell in love hard and fast (that much was probably obvious). She was kinder, more compassionate, funnier, and goofier than anything I could have imagined. It was obvious to me that what I felt as a little boy was much more significant than I realized. Reagan was special (it goes without saying how knockout gorgeous she is). I was experiencing what I felt so certain about having hardly ever spoken a word to her. Coincidentally, I was thinking of moving to New York before we started dating that summer. Knowing she was headed back to Philadelphia, I was now certain about moving to New York. Every other week, I’d take a Greyhound Bus to go see Reagan in Philadelphia. When her soccer schedule allowed, she’d come up to New York and we’d enjoy the city together. We kept that up until we graduated and moved back to the Atlanta area. By the time we were engaged on August 11, 2024, it had been three and a half years together. I couldn’t have been more sure that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Reagan. We were back in New York at Riverside Park, the sun was setting on the Hudson River while I clumsily fumbled around for the ring in my backpack, got on one knee, and asked her to marry me. We sat together on a blanket with a bottle of chardonnay and looked over an album of pictures from the last three and half years. I love Reagan more than I can describe in this small essay, and I cannot believe that we’ll be getting married in June. It feels like I’ve always known this would happen, yet for so many years I couldn’t fathom how it would actually happen. The last few years together have been a confirmation of what I was always so certain of without being able to explain why. Who Reagan is and how she has loved and cared for me has provided an explanation. There is no one who I feel so at ease with and so loved by. She is unlike anyone I’ve ever met, and I’m so ready to begin our married life together. I cannot wait to celebrate our story and our love with you all this summer.