They say “it goes down in the DMs,” and in our case, it really did — in the sweetest way possible. A casual message turned into endless conversations, laughter, and an instant connection. Thanks to Jess and an instagram post on @beautifulballers for unknowingly starting our forever. By summer 2019, we just happened to both be staying in our college towns, Lauren at Loyola University Chicago and Sean “Shizz” at Southern Illinois University. Even with miles between us, he still made the trip to see her, and that Fourth of July weekend changed everything. From fireworks to late-night talks, it was the start of something real. We met again later that month for what we still call the best Summertime Chi ever. A few weeks later, on August 20, 2019, Shizz asked Lauren to be his girlfriend over FaceTime, all the way from Germany, while pursuing his pro basketball career. From that moment on, we navigated long distance for years: from overseas calls to quick weekend trips between New York and Philly. No matter how far apart we were, our love always found its way back home. After years of traveling, time zones, and countdowns, June 2024 finally brought us to the same place, and on Valentine’s Day 2025, Shizz got down on one knee and asked Lauren to be his forever. What started with a DM turned into a lifetime story — one written across cities, countries, and countless memories, and now, we can’t wait to start our next chapter side by side. ♾️