It all began on the evening of 8/23/2020. Under a particular alignment of celestial bodies (astrology isn’t my forte) and a subtle twist of fate, Stefanie and I ended up in the same place at the same time. I remember the moment she walked through the doorway of our good friend Lauren’s house. There was a small gathering going on and there were only two spots left to sit. One of the spots was next to me, and the other was next to Lauren. Stefanie started walking in my direction, and I could tell there was something special about her. I just didn’t know what it was at the time. Unfortunately, right as she was about to sit next to me, Lauren asked Stefanie to sit next to her instead. Due to her intervention, we weren’t able to talk much that evening as Stefanie only stayed for a short while before she had to leave and go pick up Heidi. Despite all of this, something within was telling me that this wouldn’t be the last time that I saw her, or at the very least that I wanted to see her again. A few months later we met again at a Halloween party. She with her cat ears on, and I with a toddler’s dumbo outfit crammed onto my face. I must’ve made a big impression that night because for the longest time, Stefanie remembered that as our first time meeting. I was able to talk with her that time and finally got to start getting to know her. Fast forward a few more months and we’ve consistently been running into each other at gatherings and talking with one another. At this point, I thought I didn’t stand a chance with her, but I knew I wanted to keep spending time with her. We continued running into each other but hadn’t spent time away from social gatherings with each other at this point. At one particular gathering, we ended up dancing together and due to some behind-the-scenes machinations we were led to believe that we had made plans with each other for me to teach Stefanie some ballroom dancing. The scheduled day came around and I had spent a couple of hours picking out music for around 8 different styles of dance and had written out notes and diagrams for movements. Stefanie shows up at my house and we proceed to sit down and start talking. We lost track of time and four hours later it was time for her to go and pick up Heidi. I realize as she was leaving that we never even started dancing. That was the day I realized I might just have a chance with her. Summer was in full swing at this point and I was looking for any and every opportunity I could to spend time with her. We went out as a group a couple of times and went to six flags with her cousin. One special night out on the town, we broke away from the group and ended up on UGA’s north campus across from the fountain at the head of Herty Field. As we sat on the bench facing the fountain it struck me that I was truly falling in love with her. A few days later I had her over to watch Hamilton because I knew she was a sucker for musicals. As she was getting ready to leave at the end of the night I got up to walk her out and asked her if she wanted to “Date-Date for real.” With no hesitation, she responded, “I think that’s a good idea.” And followed up with “You mean like be your girlfriend?” I assured her that’s exactly what I meant. We kissed and thus began our first step on our journey toward a happily ever after.