During my sophomore year of college, Jake McKinney gave me some great advice; “Always sit beside the prettiest girl in class.”

I soon found myself seated next to Brittany Simpson in Drama 116, “Perspectives in the Theater.” The class itself wasn’t all that interesting but it was still the highlight of my week to see Brittany two days a week from 9-10am. We’d pass notes, share answers, and giggle throughout the class. For our first unofficial date, we went to see “The Tempest” at Playmaker’s Theatre; a mandatory homework assignment for the class. During the second act, I finally worked up the courage to put my arm around her. Within a few minutes she was fast asleep with her head nestled into my shoulder. I knew this was something special but wasn’t exactly sure where we stood after the play… Had I really bored her to sleep?

Luckily, I knew Brittany was a volunteer tutor in the Spanish department. Even though Spanish had always been one of my best subjects, I swallowed my pride and signed up for homework tutoring with a special request to work with her. The effort was quickly rewarded as it turns out the feeling was mutual and Brittany had been looking for the perfect opportunity to invite me to the APO Christmas dance. By the end of the school year, I had successfully (awkwardly) asked Brittany to be my girlfriend and considered myself the luckiest guy in the world.

Unfortunately, this was just in time for the first major trial of our relationship as I was getting ready to spend six months studying abroad in Spain. We had just exchanged our very first “I love you’s” but were still worried about how the new relationship would endure across 4,000 miles. I’ll never forget crying in the airport as we promised to make it work. Despite the distance, we grew stronger and closer over time as we wrote letters so long it required extra postage. When Brittany asked me what I wanted for my birthday I didn’t hesitate saying, “Come visit me in Madrid.”

We graduated the following year and began our journey into adulthood together. This included another long distance stent as Brittany left for ECU’s PA school, but this time felt so much easier since it was only an hour and a half away. During most of my visits to Greenville, we’d end up at Coastal Fog coffee shop; Brittany studying diligently while I mindlessly browsed the internet. We still managed to fit in lots of exciting things too though, like celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin, climbing a 14,000 foot mountain in Colorado, and spending lots of time with friends and family. Life got even better in Dec. 2021 when Brittany graduated at the top of her class and we were finally reunited together in the same city… this time for good.

Being with Brittany has been the best eight years of my life but my favorite chapter is still to come.