After embarking on a flight to a country neither of us had ever been to, we explored the streets of Paris separately. During the first few nights of our study abroad in college, we were embracing the vulnerability and independence of our individual lives. We were learning who we were on our own. That is when we found each other. In the second city of our trip, Aix-en-Provence, our paths finally crossed. Beyond a few blushing glances, we had yet to speak. Then one evening, in a tiny hotel room shared with other students, we finally had the chance to talk. All it took was one conversation, and we were hooked. We wanted to learn everything we could about the person sitting across from us. Ironically, neither of us wanted to admit how quickly we were falling. The next day, after staying up until 5:00 a.m. talking and watching French children's television shows, we spent our time wandering the streets of Aix, each pretending to be a little less interested than we really were. We were playing cat and mouse, and we were playing it well. As we continued exploring France together, it became clear that something special was happening. Whether we were wandering through cities or spending a day aboard a catamaran off the French coast, we found ourselves happier than we had ever been. In each other, we discovered what we had been searching for all along: someone who made us feel fully known, fully accepted, and completely alive. Our first official date took place on the coast of Malaga, Spain. After an incredible dinner, we wandered through the city, stopped at a rooftop bar overlooking the water, and explored the nightlife together. Along the way, a group of French strangers shouted, "Vive l'amour!" as we passed. It felt like something out of a movie. Later that night, we found ourselves alone on the beach beneath the stars. Then the rain came pouring down. We laughed, danced, and kissed in the rain, completely unconcerned with anything around us. The kind of joy we once thought existed only in movies suddenly felt very real. After that night, we were official. The rest of Spain felt like a dream. Traveling together came naturally, and getting to know each other in such an extraordinary setting deepened our connection faster than either of us could have imagined. Then, in Morocco, everything became even clearer. As the sun set behind Allison while we danced on a rooftop with new friends, I looked at her and realized exactly where I wanted to be. Next to her. Forever.