LET THE ADVENTURE BEGIN

It was the end of summer in 2016 and I was about to start a brand new chapter of my life. After immense personal growth, I had earned my Associate’s Degree and was transferring to the University of Mary Washington to earn my Bachelor’s. Being a couple of years older than most students, I had one objective: graduate and find a well-paying job. I had no intentions of dating, but life had other plans In the first week of class, I noticed a really cute girl walk past the desk I had sat in. We locked eyes and she shot me a soft, warm smile. I smiled back and thought nothing of it. As the first week continued I noticed that this cute girl was in three of my five classes, but again didn't think much about it. A few weeks went by and I ended up befriending a few guys on campus and they began introducing me to other students. Sure enough, the cute girl from three of my five classes was one of the first persons introduced to me. That semester we increasingly saw more of each other, moving from the edges of overlapping social circles to hanging out a good bit together. One day she asked for help with course work and asked if I'd join her and some of her girlfriends in a study lounge. I don't know if it was the twinkle in her brown eyes, the way she laughed at inside jokes as Bob Ross played on the tv in the background, or her wit and charm, but at that moment I realized I had a pretty big crush on her. After the study session I was paid for my tutoring in my favorite currency, a six-pack of my choosing (a win-win all around as far as I'm concerned!). I finally got the courage to ask her to make things official in July of 2017, although I later found out she had been waiting several weeks for that question! Time has flown by since then! We became engaged on August 16th, 2019, and have chosen September 9th, 2020, to be married. Tayllar Alexandria Gardner, you are the love of my life, I am incredibly lucky to have you and can't imagine life any other way!