Over the last five and a half years, Sofie and I have driven approximately 11,500 miles back and forth between each other’s houses and flown another 9,000 miles between Ave Maria, Florida and Columbia, South Carolina. If you are willing to get nerdy for a moment, consider that the earth’s circumference is roughly 24,000 miles. Accounting for all the other driving we’ve done to see each other, we have quite literally been around the world to be with each other. So, to say that we are excited to spend less time in the car and having dates over FaceTime would be quite an understatement. We met in our freshman year of high school but didn’t really become friends until our sophomore year, when we had a chemistry class together. The irony of the whole chemistry class thing is not lost on us. At the same time we were in Chemistry class, we also began praying the rosary together, a habit that is still the basis of our relationship. In April of our sophomore year, I got my driver’s license on the same day Sofie was having her 16th birthday party. Thank you, Mom, for not stopping me from grabbing the keys and driving straight to her party as soon as the driving instructor handed you the paperwork. I had a massive crush on Sofie at that point and probably would’ve tried walking there if you hadn’t let me drive. We went on our first date on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah that fall. After two homecomings, two proms, and the whole COVID thing, we decided to go to college two states apart. We also decided to keep dating. Some days were a lot easier than others, and there were moments when throwing in the towel would’ve been a whole lot easier than sticking with each other. But the days we’ve gotten to spend at the beach or hiking around Yellowstone, or just being together, whether in person or even on the phone, have made it all worth that trip around the earth. So, we decided that we want to add even more to our story. We went back to the same spot on Skyline Drive where we had our first date five short years earlier and I asked Sofie to marry me. She said yes, which is why you’re reading this. We are so excited to be getting married, and we are so excited for you to be there with us. We wouldn’t have made it past high school, much less to the altar, without the support of everyone around us. Every single one of you has been a wonderful part of our story so far, and we hope that you will be a part of future chapters.