It was November of 2016 when our paths crossed in an unexpected way. Matthew and I had an unlikely connection on Facebook, with just one mutual friend linking us together. I was scrolling through my feed and came across Matthew's post expressing his interest in wanting to see the movie "Almost Christmas." It struck a chord with me as I had recently seen the previews and thought it would be a perfect film to get into the holiday spirit, especially since Christmas is my favorite time of year. I quickly liked the post and continued with my day, unaware of what was to come. Little did I know fate had something in store for us. That same weekend, I was off to Tuscaloosa for the Alabama vs. LSU football game. As I was fully immersed in the excitement of tailgating and seeing friends, I missed the direct message from Matthew inviting me to join him for the movie, only realizing it a day later. After discovering Matthew's message, I took a moment to browse through his Facebook page and thought he was handsome, so I replied. We engaged in a lively exchange on Facebook Messager talking about everything. We both connected on trying new restaurants, adventures in the city, and our love for the fall and winter months. After messaging back and forth for two weeks we decided to meet up for our first date. Contrary to our initial movie plan, Matthew took me to dinner at a new restaurant in Midtown called 5 Church for our first date. We spent the entire evening engrossed in conversation and laughter, which continued over to drinks at Buckhead Saloon and some bars on East Andrews Street. The night was so magical and fun that we decided to meet up the next day for church as he was attending a church where I knew the pastor. After that weekend, our first date turned into many more and a lifetime of love!

Rachel and I met on Facebook in November of 2016. I posted a status mentioning how I wanted to see “Almost Christmas”. I was looking through the likes on my post and there was one person that stood out to me, Rachel. She was beautiful and I took that as a sign to shoot my shot. I sent her a direct message (DM) referencing the post and how I would like to take her to see the movie. She did not respond right away, and I anxiously waited. I was excited when she finally responded a day or so later. We messaged on instant messenger all day and night for a while as she would not give me her number right away, which I respected. A few weeks went by and I decided to ask her to dinner since we had not met in person. I drove to her apartment in Brookhaven to pick her up for our first date at 5 Church and after we continued our night at the bars in Buckhead. While we were talking that night, I knew I wanted to see her again and spend more time together, so I asked her to come with me to church the next day. That weekend turned out to be our first date and blossomed into a lifelong love.