Sam has been deeply, madly in love with me since we rode the same bus in kindergarten. He can still picture me sitting on those dark green, torn-up bench seats, shouting out the yellow cars that drove by, all of us keeping score to see who could spot the most of such a rarity. He still tells me my green eyes had a twinkle in them that my purple backpack complemented just so beautifully... I think I looked at him a couple times. Fine, maybe they were more than looks. But I don’t think I really began to see the Sam I know now until we were nineteen. I was a mess, as most 19-year-olds are. And he was my goofy guy friend who liked to lie in the grass after a few Natty Lights and drove me home from our friends’ houses because we lived close together. I should point out that the former and the latter were always separate occasions. Don’t worry, Becky. I really didn’t expect to fall for him, but the more I got to know Sam, the more I found myself wanting to be around him all the time. He was so much more than funny. It was like a little secret I was being let in on--getting to know how sweet and gentle he really is. He made me feel more like me. The world stopped feeling so scary that summer because I realized my world just wanted to drink some beers and chill in the grass. What more could a girl ask for? It took two weeks to say I love you. Then, about a month in, at approximately 2 am in Athens, Ohio, we admitted over drunken giggles and suspicious gyros that we’d each secretly thought about getting married already. And we were right! Take that, Pita Pit worker who certainly knew we meant it and did not write us off as some drunkards who'd fallen in love for the night. They say when you know you know, and we certainly knew. As long as I live, as long as I’m with my Sam, I’ll never be more sure that it’s us. On every school bus in every janky college restaurant in every universe, there will be us. ♡ Okay, I had a little crush when we were like five, but I have no idea what color her backpack was. The truth is, I always had a little glimmer in my own eye when it came to Sophie. Time seemed to slow down around her. I was so conscious of my every move, fearing I'd embarrass myself in front of the prettiest girl in school. Maybe it was the universe’s way of telling me there’s something here…she’ll notice you someday…don’t mess it up. I guess persistence pays off. Hell, it better after 14 years of chasing her. The part Sophie left out is this: we really didn’t talk or hang out until we were in high school. While to her I was just the class clown from elementary school, to me she was always THE girl, even when I had to admire from a distance. At the core of our long history lived the fact that all I ever wanted to do was make her laugh and smile. When I finally got the chance, I realized I had nothing to be fearful of. She was like a piece of me that I never knew I was living without. Good Will Hunting is her favorite movie, and I think this quote from it perfectly summarizes what I am alluding to: “And then we get to choose who we let in to our weird little worlds. You’re not perfect, sport. And let me save you the suspense. This girl you met, she isn’t perfect either. But the question is whether or not you’re perfect for each other. That’s the whole deal. That's what intimacy is all about. Now you can know everything in the world, sport, but the only way you’re finding out that one is by giving it a shot.” Thanks, Sophie, for giving me my shot. I’ll never stop pursuing you.