Take a trip with us to the year 2008, to Shoemaker High School, where Brian is likely yelling some absurdity in the hallway. Vanessa is probably judging him on her way to class. Passing each other daily in the hallways of Shoemaker High School, neither of us knew the love story we would later share. Fast forward to 2011, Brian slid into Vanessa's DMs with a subtle " what's up queen, how you doing today?". Vanessa promptly replied, " Uh, hello, I'm studying for a test." Months passed, and they were in daily contact with each other as she was attending UTSA in San Antonio. He was attending Wiley College in Marshall. Unfortunately, life circumstances put love story on hold for roughly one year. In early 2013, Brian reached out to Vanessa and things picked up right where they had left off. It was as though they never stopped talking. Due to the distance between them, they were unable to see each, but life was about to take a turn. Vanessa and Brian met up in Killeen on the 4th of July 2013. He invited her to a celebration at Ms. Kendra's house (a family friend). They were glued to the hip for hours in a bounce house with kiddish laughter and conversation. Vanessa woke up to Brian's text message saying, "We go together now. Welcome to Death Row". She replied, " You're the one on death row; I'm here for the long haul. Welcome to a life sentence, sir." Determined to carry out this lifelong appointment, they had to navigate this long-distance relationship. Neither one flinched but instead found solutions. He would travel three hundred seventy-eight miles from Marshall to San Antonio to spend time with her. Brian did not have a car this did not deter him as he would take the Amtrak, which was a ten-to-fifteen-hour trip each way. After all these trips, he finally got a vehicle and drove to San Antonio weekly. As the years continued to roll by, so did the challenges and obstacles for their relationship. Brian aspired to be an attorney, but they both were completely unaware of the sacrifices that would have to happen to make this dream a reality. Once again, they were back to long distance as he was accepted in Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, which placed four hundred twenty-six miles between them. We have survived distance, family, friends, death, failure, success, and CoVid. We wake up every day embracing that today is different than yesterday. We have learned that the key to love is not actually love but the efforts in love that make the difference. Love requires courage, loyalty, compassion, adaptability, communication, admiration, patience, and trust. Welcome to the start of our new journey.