In August 2012, we met at Johnson State College where we were teammates on the women's basketball team. We fell into different crowds outside of the gym, and despite our immediate attraction to each other we simply could not stand to be in the same room. It wasn't until 2015, Brittany's senior season, that we decided we would try harder than just flirting at parties and actually give friendship another go - for the sake of our basketball team, of course. We became best friends. Brittany invited me to her professional basketball try-out weekend in New Jersey, where the spark between us became overbearing. I knew I needed to make her mine, but she beat me to it. We finished the final month of school having library and lunch dates. Our first official date was Brittany's senior cruise on the Spirit of Ethan Allen. After graduation we decided we were ready to make our relationship official. We began dating on June 5th, 2015.

After a leadership conference in Philadelphia, we decided to spend our remaining vacation in Cincinnati to spend some time with Cris' family. Although we were already relaxing, Cris booked us a room at The Cincinnatian Hotel downtown to have a romantic getaway. What I thought was an early birthday gift turned into the most amazing night of my life. After checking into the beautiful hotel and popping champagne, she took me to the top of the Carew Tower. The tallest building in the city gave a view that words cannot describe. I can remember feeling her heart racing as she held me from behind. She asked a stranger to take a photo of us and next thing I knew she was down on one knee. I said yes! We ended the night with an amazing dinner on the levee, going to watch Disney on ice, a romantic evening in the hotel, and late night snacking at the original Skyline Chili. This was the best day of my life.