It was getting cold my freshman year of college, and at UA that was about the first week of December. It was the week before finals and I really did not want to study. So, naturally, I went to the library! There, all the Saint Francis friends had designated a table to study, eat food, and distract each other, of course. Later that night, Evan walked in the library, and, as I saw the consideration of sitting next to me flash over his eyes as he brushed the thought away, I made a comment that Evan will never forget. I said, "Are you seriously not going to sit next to me? I don't bite." And with those snarky words the ice was broken and we goofed around the rest of the night. Now, I knew Evan was a gentleman when he insisted on driving me home that night. The silly thing is, we walked equal distance to Evan's car as it would have been for me to walk to my dorm! As winter left and spring bloomed, we continued to grow in friendship. We would take wonderful walks at the Riverwalk, and in spring, the flowers were beautiful! We had similar interests, like faith and the outdoors. Some weekends we'd go to the Metro Animal Shelter and "rent" a dog for the afternoon. I knew he was the one when he got down on one knee and proposed. I knew for sure then. KIDDING! I really knew Evan was the one for me over a series of realizations. I realized that Evan would be kind, and listen to me very well, even if my empathetic train of thought was way different than his logical one. I realized that he was always going to pursue faith, and always challenge me to be a saint. And most of all I realized that life with him would be sweeter than on my own, because spending life with your best friend is a magnificent thing!

The first time I remember seeing Sarah Catherine was at Mass. She was with her sister, Laura Stowe, who I already knew; so I assumed this was the other McCarty sister whom I heard about. She seemed quiet and reserved, and I knew almost nothing about her, so I waited for an opportunity to approach her and make some kind of good impression. The weeks went on that I saw her at Mass, confident that she had no idea who I was, and no opportunities seemed to fall into my lap. As the semester was coming to a close and my time seemed to be running out, Sarah Catherine and I wound up sitting near each other at the Iron Bowl. I remember that she was wearing a black dress, she had recently cut her hair quite short and I was dumb founded at how I was supposed to make a good impression, much less hold a normal conversation with this beautiful woman. However, what I didn't know, was that Sarah Catherine had been waiting for me to approach her since September and was growing rather impatient with my lack of initiative. So for the duration of the Iron Bowl, we awkwardly exchanged glances trying not to be caught by the other. The next week I had an opportunity to approach her and the moment I thought to shy away, she totally humiliated me. (Please reference Sarah Catherine's version of the story for details) And so began the beginning of our friendship. We spent hours a day "studying" in the library during finals week, when in reality we were mastering the art of looking busy just for the sake of spending time together. I even made sure to take her home when she had finished studying for day, and at the end of the week, when I was taking her home for the last time, I closed with "Well, have a good Christmas Break. See you in January." Smooth, right? Fortunately that wasn't the end, and continued to get to know each other and become best friends.