Let us set the scene: it's the day of the youth group ski trip, it's cold, and Mickey didn't know how to ski well. Maya didn't have a ski partner and Mickey desperately needed one. With Maya's incredible patience and Mickey's stunning learning capability, both of us survived the morning on the slopes. We stopped for lunch, and enjoyed the warmth of the ski lodge and each other's company. Although we finished eating, our conversation continued as we hit the slopes that afternoon. At the end of the day, we rode back in the same car, singing along to the radio (as Mickey does best). The day had ended, but a friendship had begun. Little did we know where it would end up.

Keeping a long distance relationship strong is difficult, but not as difficult as having a stable Skype connection. This might seem insane, but we Skyped almost every night. These calls are what kept us together and built our communication skills to last us through these 4 tough years. One thing that has remained with us throughout our relationship has been our faith. Without sharing weekly youth group or attending retreats together, we had to get creative. So at the end of our Skype calls we always shared a Hail Mary followed by an Our Father. When we were on college breaks, it almost seemed as if there wasn't enough time in the day when it came to hanging out. We loved spending Christmas and New Years with each other families during the winter and loved going to Ocean City and Deep Creek Lake during the summer. Finally, in 2020, we both graduated from college.

For those that don't know, we are notoriously bad at remembering to take pictures together. So, we decided that on June 29th, we would get dressed up and let Maya's brother, Lucas, take pictures of us. Little did Maya know that it was mostly so she would be dressed nicely for the proposal. After taking pictures, we went to St. Patrick's to pray. We prayed in front of the statue of Mary and were walking back toward the car when Mickey stopped in front of the church. He got down on one knee, proposed, and Maya said yes. Maya finished her last semester at the University of Tampa and finally, we were both in the same state for longer than a school break. Mickey began his graduate program at Johns Hopkins University while Maya began working as a Medical Assistant while she waits to hear from medical schools. We continue to seek growth both individually and together, enjoy each other's company and look forward to what the future holds.