Jenn's Version: It was freshman year, and I was gonna be there for the next four years in that town (Austin)..;) My best friend (and roommate) Lauren and I were at a friend's birthday party, when she got a text to go over to our other friend's dorm for a surprise for her. (What that surprise was supposed to be is a forever secret--sorry, everyone.) When Lauren and I showed up, we saw three familiar faces and two new ones, a guy and a girl. Lauren and I both thought they were dating each other, and little did I know that they were not. Instead, it would turn out that I would cross paths with the guy many times throughout the rest of that semester, frequently at inopportune moments--when I was coming back from the gym sweaty sans makeup, in the first floor hallways when I desperately had to pee (and the women's restroom was across from his dorm room), and at the big Blanton study room table that I sat studying alone at one morning until he decided to sit down next to me without saying a single word (resulting in my frantic texting to Lauren to save me from the immense awkwardness). I certainly could never have predicted that at the end of Honors Formal freshman year that I would drunkenly share a Voodoo donut with him. All that's to say, I think our relationship started off on a pretty sweet note! I'll be the first to admit that it wasn't always sweet all the rest of the time, and that our story hasn't been the easiest to follow. But I don't think it was meant to be any other way--I'm grateful for every chapter because it got us here. Most of all, I'm grateful for Eric, because the way that he loves is proof that every choice you make in a relationship is one of intention and commitment, and because of the way he taught me that. And because of that, I am the luckiest girl ever in the whole wide world. Eric's Version: I guess I just got lucky. We met serendipitously one night freshman year when I had hung out with my friends and she had hung out with her friends and we all ended up in the same dorm. Apparently, I was wearing a colorful plaid shirt that was considered extremely ugly (but at least memorable!). From there, it was awkward encounter after awkward encounter - briefly waving to me as I was about to go in the men's restroom, saying hi after voting in the 2020 election, and struggling to stay awake in Chem 302. You could say it wasn't a fairy tale start, but we got to know each other through all this awkwardness (and we are still awkward no doubt). We became good friends and then great friends that year (best friends happened later on). The rest definitely was not history, but after some winds and curves and ups and downs we made it happen - here we are today!