After being in multiple classes together and becoming acquaintances at the University of Miami, we became friends. We both ended up moving to Nashville to continue our schooling and then became roommates. Unconventionally, we found out we could live together before ever dating. As time went on, our love for each other grew and we became a couple in 2022. This love grew from close friendship and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Mt Fuji- Konnichiwa It was in that moment she turned around to look at me, with an expression like I've never seen on her face before and says something no man wants to hear moments before he proposes: "I hate this." So any who, rewind about 10 years or so, I'm in Japan with my father and we find ourselves on Mt Fuji. I was hoping to summit the mountain, but we were unfortunately not prepared for such an adventure. "Don't worry," he assures me. "We'll come back when you finish grad school. The year is now 2023 and I knew Melia was the one, the proposal was #ineVITAble. But your standard proposal just wouldn't do. It needed to be something more, something larger than life, something so memorable it would become legend... Around this same time my father reminds me of our blood pact to summit Mt Fuji. What better place to propose than on top of Japan's tallest mountain! I could see it all, we hike to the top, catch the sunrise over the peak, I take a knee, pop the question, bing bang boom! Best Day Ever. The Day finally arrives! We meet up with our tour guides, decline their offer of rain coats, and begin the trek. Beautiful. I'm so excited, I have the ring in my pocket the whole time and can't wait! The scenery was gorgeous with lush foliage growing over boulders and a light cooling mist. It felt like we had entered another world. Then it begins to rain. Not an issue though because we have our 10$ amazon ponchos. As we pass the tree line (~3700 m high) the rain begins to die down enough for us to enjoy the views. Then the wind pick ups, hitting 35-40 mph. It was at this point my father's poncho shreds leaving him exposed to the elements. Not to worry! I have a thin windbreaker, so I let him have my poncho. After several hours of hiking through on/off rain, gusting winds, and ever decreasing temperature, we arrive at our cabin for the night. The storm brewing outside was magnificent, an enormous swirling rain cloud slowly consuming the mountain. All night you could hear the winds howling and blasting into the cabin. The storm was getting so bad, the trail guides weren't sure if it would be safe enough to summit the mountain in the morning. 2:40 am After an evening of cataclysmic winds rattling the cabin, we load up and begin the final leg of the journey to the top of the mountain. Rain, sleet, sub freezing wind chills, and 10$ ponchos. See paragraph 1. Finally, we made it to the top! Rewarded with hot soup and no feeling left in our fingers, it was time. Now, if any of you know Melia you know how much she despises being cold. Just imagine, if you will, the look she gave me when I suggest leaving this warm, cozy cabin with hot soup to go back outside into the cold to "Take a picture." "A picture of what? The clouds?" After some coaxing, she reluctantly followed me back outside, and the rest is history. A memorable proposal indeed.