Our story began exactly a year ago. In a new environment and without a friend for hundreds of miles, I downloaded Tinder in hopes of meeting some new people (and had no intentions of hooking up with random guys). I stumbled upon your profile and felt my heart tug at me. You were sort of cute, I guess, but I was mostly drawn to your bio which read, "Just looking for someone to sing Anna's part in Love is an Open Door." Being the Disney fanatic that I am, I immediately swiped right and sent you a message that said "Just looking for someone to sing Hans' part in Love is an Open Door."
After about a week of messaging, you convinced me to go hiking with you at a nearby forest preserve after class. I reluctantly agreed, anxious that you'd turn out to be a serial killer and leave me to be found in the woods somewhere. Thankfully, you were very kind and respectful, and not killer-like at all. When I returned to my dorm room later that evening, I told my roommate that you were kind of weird and that I wasn't sure about you.
On Halloween, I went to a party and planned to dance the night away. I was having a great time with my friends, but felt a familiar tug in my heart to ask you to pick me up. An awkward phone call, several crappy directions, and a vague description of my location later, we were laughing together in the car on the way back to my dorm room. Your plan was to drive me home and walk me to the door, but the tug in my heart led me to invite you to hang out for a while. We talked about our families and watched Tangled, and I went to sleep that night with a smile on my face.
After that night, I wanted nothing to do with you. In fact, I ignored you for three months. I thought you were annoying for Snapchatting me too often and asking me to hang out every now and then, but now I know that I was just intimidated by your kindness. You picked up quickly that I didn't like you, but you didn't give up for two more months. Come December, I stopped hearing from you and I was involved in a new relationship.
In January, my then-relationship had fallen apart. I lay in bed crying one night when my phone went off. It was a Snapchat from you. I felt that familiar tug in my heart as I looked at the photo of you disappear. I replied immediately to tell you that I wish I could hang out with you, to which you responded that you had a secret and that you'd text me. A few minutes later, a novel-lengthed text message from you poured out your feelings to me. You told me that you really liked me and that you were hurt when I ignored you. You told me that you prayed for us, and that you knew that I would one day be a part of your life. We FaceTimed that night and I told you about my ending relationship. You read me scriptures and prayed for me. I will never forget that night.
We FaceTimed every night after that. We talked about anything and everything; we had so much in common. I felt at peace with you. You comforted me and made me feel safe. As much as I hated to admit it, I was falling for you. I could not wait to get back to school from winter break to spend time with you, but there was a major roadblock in my way; you were leaving to be an au pair in Spain for three months. Usually, I would give up on a person in a situation like this, but I didn't let go of you.
Every day that you were in Spain, we FaceTimed; every day, we fell for each other more and more. It was not easy; I faced many hardships while you were away and went down many wrong paths that would have led me away from you, but my heart would never let me get too far. My friends and family called me crazy for waiting for you, but I knew in my heart that I wasn't; I was waiting for my soulmate.
We anxiously counted down the days until April 11th, the day you were supposed to come home. Early that morning, you woke me up and presented me with horrible news; your flight was delayed and you wouldn't be home for one more day. I was crushed, but still felt so much excitement for the day to come.
I had so many dramatic ideas about how I'd greet you when you walked through the door, but when I heard the door open, anxiety overcame me and instead of greeting you with a run-and-jump hug, I was putting eggs in the refrigerator when I heard you excitedly say "Hi." I blushed and looked to my feet, feeling suddenly shy in front of the man I had fallen in love with.
The last five months since then have been the happiest of my life. You bring out the best in me. You bring me closer to Christ, teach me to be patient, calm my anxieties, make me confident in my future, bring excitement and adventure to my life, and make me love more than I've ever loved before. You are my everything, and I am so blessed to have you.
The story of us has been a beautiful one, and it is far from over.
I love you, Noah.
