Arris and I met when he was in 8th grade and I was a freshman. We had mutual friends and were familiar with each other because of discussions through Veritas, and we became fast friends when we finally connected. Throughout high school, we remained very close. We even submitted an Omnibus project together for Mrs. Reese (Ms. Williams at the time), writing and sending an actual letter to each other as characters from the Civil War.

As we had been close, chatted on different platforms, seen each other's faces, and heard each other talk, we called on the phone for the first time in 2020 and then FaceTimed every day for hours in the spring of 2021, which was a continued pattern for the next several years of our lives!

Throughout our 8-year friendship, we have never met anyone who can make each other laugh as hard as we do! We’ve never met someone who challenges each other in our walk with the Lord, working through challenging conversations and sharpening each other in wisdom and knowledge.

Although Arris and I always had feelings for each other in high school, we didn’t start to take things seriously until the fall of 2023. Despite attempts to do so over the years, we had yet to meet in real life. Finally, on October 30, 2023, we met face to face for the first time in Wichita, Kansas, because Aris decided to join my mom and me during a very harsh week of intense treatment for my health. It was there, laying eyes upon each other for the first time, that we knew we wanted to marry each other, and it was finally a thought that could be real, just as real as we could be standing face to face.

So what’s next for us? Well, our wedding, of course! We are looking to get married at the end of the summer, and we will be moving to Dallas, Texas, where Arris and his family are from. Arris works full-time as a firefighter and paramedic, and eventually, after moving there, I hope to own and run my own photography company, specializing in weddings and engagements. We’re excited for what comes next and how the Lord will continue to grow us and show us His faithful hand while remembering and giving thanks for where we’ve come from, the lessons he’s already taught us, and the key pieces like Veritas that were necessary in order to get us here today