Our story is one of ups, downs, fate, and a lesson in knowing that everything happens for a reason. We first met in high school as young 10th graders in health class. Not knowing that we would one day be destined to spend the rest of our lives together, we began as friends who would occasionally share answers to homework and quizzes during that year (one more so than the other, but we'll let you guess which was which). Eventually, this acquaintanceship turned into a deep friendship, which would involve late night AIMing, Oovoo (video chat) rants about how stressful high school was, and going about our lives without a care in the world. The friendship era of duritzshanelle and MazterJC01 was a truly blissful one with much joy, laughter, and memorable experiences with the rest of our friends. Eventually, this friendship would turn into a romantic excursion starting with a humble, yet bold request to become officially dating on December 19th, 2011. From then, our senior year of high school turned into a whirlwind of relationship archetypes: dates at the movies, adventures in chinatown, the typical late boba runs, canes sweet tea runs, even if it was 11PM, and of course, one of the most incredible promposals a girl could ever dream of (I bet you can guess who is writing this now). The school year ended with Shanelle's 18th birthday party with Joey as her escort for her debut. This day set the stage for a lifetime of memories, almost mirroring our wedding just 12 short years later. But unfortunately, as life tends to do, our relationship was tested with the realities of our circumstances. Following our graduation and into our first year of college, we both struggled to maintain our commitments to one another while transitioning into the next chapter of our lives. Regrettably, we had an unfortunate parting and were unable to reconcile the relationship we had at the time. It was difficult for both of us, but through this hardship, we later discovered that we learned so much more about ourselves apart. Fast forward 3.5 years. Joey was nearing the end of his college education and Shanelle had just graduated college. A couple likes on social media posts and a few daring, out of the blue messages later, we reconnected and rekindled our friendship, fully realizing that we were different people at this point in our lives. But deep down, we still knew there was that young, blissful teenage romance that remained a part of us. We remained close friends after that first connect, but alas, that friendship again grew into something more, as we inevitably and mutually understood that we shared a deep connection for one another. What began as an innocent rekindling of friendship, turned into a rekindling of our love for one another and we decided to give our relationship a second chance. And since then, we arrive here to this moment, pledging ourselves to one another, and sharing our love with our closest friends and families. We are not a cinderella story. We did not lock eyes from the day we met and fell in love. I did not drop one of those incredible pick-up lines and had her swooning in my arms (I did try). We have had our fair share of disagreements, challenges, obstacles, and arguments. I will concede once more that yes, it is better to separate my laundry, rather than throwing my hamper in the washer all at once. Our story, we believe, is one of learning, growing, and supporting each other through our struggles. It took some time apart for us to really discover what it means to truly love someone deeply, and unconditionally. This is a cinderella story in the sense that we faced adversity and hoped for that magical moment to take us to that moment. But it took those difficulties and trials that we faced as individuals, to realize that we were destined for each other; to realize that the glass slipper really did mean to slip off her feet and into my hands. To know that our story, is one that we find that Everything Happens for a Reason.