The Introduction: We met at the National Association of Black Journalists Convention back in 2012. Both of us were hungry for a chance to make the connections that would help us break into the world of broadcasting fresh out of undergrad. While in one of the many lines where young journalists looked to get feedback and hopefully make an impression that would get them hired by their future employers, we ran into each other for the first time. Instantly, we clicked talking about our first experience at the conference, the rivalry between our HBCU's Texas Southern and Prairie View A&M, and sports. We exchanged information and we were both pretty sure we'd stumbled onto the beginning of a good "friendship." HIStory: After NABJ we stayed in touch a lot early on and checked in with each other in our first couple years as professionals. We reconnected in 2018 during my last year working at a station in Monroe, Lousiana. That was the year EVERYTHING changed. Troy invited me to her birthday celebration in Memphis. I was the first of her friends to show up, the only guy to show up, and by the time the celebration was over she asked me "Why not?" When I said "I mean yea ok," I had no idea that what was next for us was a baby girl >> 2 moves, from the South to the Midwest and the East Coast>> 5 years of ups and downs, only for me to flip the script and ask "Why Not?" to FOREVER. HERstory: After NABJ I moved to Georgia to start my first job in TV, Randall and I talked pretty frequently that first year but conversations dwindled to talking once or twice a year by the time I took my next job in Shreveport. I knew I always enjoyed our conversations, he was the easiest person to talk to, so I think there was always the thought of, I could definitely do this forever lol. However, I valued him so much as a person and friend too much to jeopardize losing him plus the timing was always off with us until it wasn't. In 2017, we were reunited compliments of NABJ at the same location where we first met. This time we were still friends but as he stashed his stuff in my room because he wasn't staying at the host hotel the thought of "why not" did start to make its way into my mind. Still, neither of us would have the courage to act on anything until a year later at my birthday event where after kicking it with him for a few days straight and having the time of my life, I finally said, "Why not?" Things progressed rather quickly after that and now our daughter is going to be our flower girl--it has indeed been a journey but I thank God for our imperfect love story because there's no one on earth I'd rather do life with.