There was a Georgia girl and a New Hampshire boy who met before they understood what fate feels like. From the beginning, there was a pull – magnetic, impossible to name, but the kind of gravity you don’t question because your heart already knows. Marva saw through Sam’s northern attitude; his rough-and-tough exterior couldn’t hide his enormous heart from her - steady, strong, caring, the kind of friend who showed up before you even knew you needed him. And Sam couldn’t help but notice the way Marva lit up the room without even trying, like sunshine in human form. Her genuine kindness made everyone feel included, warming every space she stepped into. Everyone else saw the spark. An almost. A someday. We weren’t pretending not to notice; we just weren’t ready yet. So, we stayed best friends - helping each other through exams, heartbreaks, and all the growing up in between. Orbiting, returning, finding each other again and again through years and distance. Looking back, it’s easy to see we were each other’s person from the start. There were signs along the way. Little moments that make sense only in hindsight. Like circa 2012 when Marva fleetingly mentioned she’d marry the man who found a keychain with her name on it - a novelty, because her name never existed on souvenir racks. But then, in 2019, while Sam had moved back to New Hampshire and Marva was still in Georgia, a small package arrived in the mail. Inside was a keychain with her name on it. A tiny reminder that he’d been listening all along. Or even when Marva joked she would only consider marrying a man who could cook a good steak… and suddenly Sam became a master chef. Coincidence? Absolutely not. We never lost touch. Even oceans apart, we stayed connected while Sam was deployed - two hearts tethered by a ticking time bomb of love ready to burst. And when Sam finally came home in 2024, he made a trip to Georgia. The moment we saw each other again, everything aligned. The shift was instant, certain, like the moment in every great rom com when the truth finally catches up to the story. Sam, all worked up and nervous, said, “I love you,” and Marva ecstatic to hear this incredibly long-awaited truth after 12 years of suspense, simply responded, “I know.” About a year later, in a true full circle moment, Sam got down on one knee where it all began, the place that first wove our stories together, and he asked Marva to stay his forever. And suddenly, we were on an 18 hour drive from Georgia, moving all of Marva’s belongings, closing the distance that had never really kept us apart, to our home in New Hampshire. Some loves are instant. Some loves are loud. But the rarest loves, the ones that last, are the ones that grow quietly beside you until one day you realize they’ve been your home all along. Today, our love is still as natural as it was back then. The kind of love that reads your mind, finishes your thoughts, sees you fully and chooses you every time. The kind of love that feels like home, because it always was. We love each other honestly, deeply, and without hesitation. Marva is inspired every day by Sam’s discipline, his sense of honor, and his heart. Sam loves Marva’s big, boundless heart - the way she loves people fiercely, wants the best for everyone, and genuinely believes she can make the world better… and actually tries through her obsessive care, drive, and work ethic. What began as a spark between two best friends has become the truest love either of us has ever known - the kind you build a life on, the kind that feels written long before you ever meet, the kind that finally finds its moment. And this… this is the moment our almost becomes always and forever. From stepping through the UGA arch to stepping into forever together – hand in hand.