We're Getting Married!

When I was put into the wrong class during my senior year, I thought I was going to be upset until I walked in and saw a large group of my friends in the class. But then, a curly-haired boy with a free period walked in to talk with the teacher. This became a routine of Eli coming into the class during his free period and soon we all became friends. We spent the last semester of our senior year becoming friends with each other within a group, and he asked me to be his girlfriend in the summer! The rest is history.

We started dating the summer after we graduated high school. I was getting ready to move to Baylor to pursue my degree in Pre-Medical Biology from Baylor, while Eli was preparing to go to Texas Tech to pursue his education in Mechanical Engineering. Faced with long-distance, we didn't know what the future was going to hold for us, but we both felt strongly that continuing our relationship was the right choice. As each semester passed, we grew strong and closer, despite being 315 miles apart. We spent 8 semesters traveling between Waco and Lubbock, trying to see each other at least once a month when possible. We held each other through losses, degree changes, and every challenge that life threw our way. Eli proposed to me in December of 2019, and we can not wait to start a life together (in the same zip code).

We were getting ready to go to an "end of semester" celebratory dinner the night I got back into town for Christmas Break. As we were getting ready to leave, Calys called Eli saying she was taking pictures with her friends, and they needed a new SD card. We grabbed the card and headed her way all dressed up. She's at Gold Stripe Coffee in the Cactus Alley, where Gatsby's Coffee shop used to be. Gatsby's Coffee is where Eli and I had our very first date, but sadly the shop closed down in 2016. We arrive and give Calys the card, and her friend Anna who was taking pictures suggested that Eli and I take some since we looked so nice. We went up on a bridge in the middle of the center and took a couple shots. I asked Eli if he was ready to go, that's when he grabbed my hands and said he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. He got on his knee and proposed with my great grandmother's ring! We then still went to dinner, where we were surprised by both of our families at a huge congratulations celebration!