It all started in the Spring of 2013. I was a high school senior doing classes at the U of MN Rochester (UMR) and he was a high school senior planning on coming to UMR. As luck may have it, UMR has about eight times more girls than boys, which led us girls to take some drastic actions in the hope of finding a man. One night, my friend Allison and I had the great idea to look for incoming freshmen on facebook. After some digging, we finally found a few “suitable” profiles and I had the good taste to quickly claim the cute guy in a St. Louis Park letterman jacket hugging a German Shepard. I then struck up a conversation with him and found out he was attending a VIP day at UMR in the near future. As a member of multiple clubs, I offered to man the booth that day in order to get to see Phillip in person.
VIP day finally came and I had a chance to briefly talk with Phillip for the first time in person. He seemed a bit shy, but I saw that as a challenge. After all, I wasn’t having any luck with outgoing guys at the time, so I figured it might be a nice change in pace. I messaged him on facebook and told him to text me. I then proceeded to wait…and wait….and wait. It took him nearly a week to text me, but that wasn’t enough to discourage me! We then set up a “date” for March 9th—which included some frozen yogurt, a movie, and driving through a horrible rain storm with bad window wipers. I immediately loved what a gentleman he was during the date; he offered to pay without hesitation, held open doors, and didn’t try to make a move. I wondered if he knew that I liked him, and if he liked me back or if he just saw me as a new friend/ future classmate. It was worth a few more dates to find out.
That date marked the beginning of our relationship. A relationship which has not only grown and developed throughout the years, but has also proved its resilience in times of adversity. So, now that we have established the base of our story, I thought it might be nice to point out key events and memories throughout the years.
- Year 1: March 9th 2013- March 9th 2014
- Our first date!
- I invite Phillip to visit UMR and accidentally meet Ruth and Jeff, who don’t realize that I’m dating their son and think I’m a UMR tour guide—it’s crazy how much things change with time!
- Many dates at the Burnsville mall throughout the summer. We were definitely caught up on movies that summer!
- While hanging out with my friend Elizabeth and talking about our love lives, I blurt out that I love Phillip. I then try to deny it, but eventually realize it is true.
- I tell Phillip that I love him. He says it back. Happiness was had by all.
- I decide to return to UMR rather than go to Marquette for their Physical Therapy Program. I’m not saying that it was for Phillip—but it just felt innately wrong. I’ve never regretted this decision for a second. Destiny has a funny way of working things out.
- We start school together—and realize that close proximity brings along conflict.
- We topple said conflict and come out stronger.
- We spend our first holidays together!
- Phillip gives me a ring on New Years Eve with “2013” inscribed on it in celebration of the year we met. I have worn it on my right hand fourth finger ever since.
- Our first anniversary is spent at the Science Museum and Dick’s Last Resort. We geeked out, laughed a lot, and ate some great food. It begins to feel like this could be a forever kind of love.
- Year 2: March 9th 2014- March 9th 2015
- We move in together!
- We realize we make great roommates since we are able to function well as a team.
- I throw a party for his birthday with the help of Branch and his parents in order to surprise Phillip with some old friends. It works!
- We start buying things jointly and refer to them as “ours”.
- Phillip comes on family vacation to Florida with us, and fits in perfectly.
- We attended STLF together and volunteered/rode on a bus for a week straight. I realized that the only person who didn’t drive me crazy by the end of the trip was Phillip. He made me calmer when I felt overwhelmed and needed space from the group.
- Year 3: March 9th 2015- March 9th 2016
- While at the Mall of America, we stop in to look at rings. Our future no longer feels like a potential path; it becomes the one that I have chosen.
- I begin a research position at Mayo and Phillip begins to take a bigger role in the family business. He becomes a part of the family to the point where my brother and cousins say that they’d choose Phillip if we broke up.
- Phillip and I discuss our plans for next year after I graduate and I decide to take a year or two off so we can decide where to go together afterwards as a team. Although stressful and time-consuming, I begin the job search.
- We book our first solo trip for May of 2016 to NYC and Canada!
- I get a job at Mayo Clinic in a research lab for the next year. It becomes certain that we are now making life choices with the other in mind.
March 5th 2016: We get engaged! Although not necessarily a surprise, this was by far the happiest moment of my life. We had picked out the ring together 2 weeks before, and I was hoping that it would happen soon. We first went out painting, and upon our return he told me to wait in the car. About a half hour later, he returned and told me to come inside. During this time, he had arranged our bed to be covered with a wide range of things we had collected over the years—from framed pictures to stuffed animals to random games and accessories—with the ring perfectly framed in the center. He then proceeds to tell me that these things represent the memories we have made throughout the years, and that it wasn’t the things themselves that mattered, it was the memories we made through them. He then tells me that he plans to continue making memories with me by his side, and that “although the ring is the crown jewel of the collection, it isn’t the ring itself that matters, it’s the memories we will make together with it.” He then got down on one knee and asked me to marry him—and I said YES!
- Year 4: March 9th 2016- March 9th 2017
- Wedding planning and engagement pictures. Phillip is a good sport in allowing us to take many in different poses and places. J
- I graduate from college with high distinction and thank Phillip for all of his support throughout the years. College would have been very different without his constant support and motivation. He has made me better in every aspect of my life, and school is not the exception!
We are currently on our trip to NYC and Canada. We have been up at the break of dawn the past two days in order to make our flight and our bus trip, but he has stayed positive throughout it all. Looking over at him, I see his handsome face intently scanning a nonfiction book on history called “Europe” while enduring a long bus ride to Niagara Falls. I love this intelligent, caring man more than anything else in the world. Here’s to a long, happy marriage and to all the friends and family that have supported and cared for us along the way. See you at the wedding!