our engagement story.

seven years ago, i was a freshman at louisiana tech university.
and seven years ago, justin was a freshman at louisiana tech university.

we had never met before, although there were a few friends that we shared.

and it's true, i had heard whispers of his name.
but one night, at the sigma alpha epsilon house, we happened to round the corner at the same time.

 and that's when i introduced myself, telling him he reminded me of someone i knew.
many months passed after our meeting - months filled with tears & adjustments, of fun & unfamiliarity.
much of our freshman year  was experienced separately - with different people, doing different things.
but then, spring quarter saw fate step in, & we found ourselves in the same biology class.
and truly, as they say, the rest is history.

--

i believe that my engagement was truly perfect.

since justin & i met about 7 years ago at our now alma mater, louisiana tech university, we have experienced a world of different events, emotions, experiences, & lifetime landmarks.

and as we traveled east into town for homecoming (my favorite 'tech holiday') on the twenty-ninth of october, a saturday, i recalled those memories of volleyball, flag football games, dancing, friends, & fun, juxtaposed with the more recent memories of graduation, interviews, & moving - the stuff of what some call growing up.

justin had suggested that, upon our arrival in ruston, we tour the updated campus. with new buildings of the business & engineering variety sprouting up like grass, i knew there would be a lot to see & i was excited to see how far the campus had come since my last visit. and, of course, i was anxious to feel that familiar-yet-fleeting feeling of comfort exuded from my four-year home: ruston. 

as we walked the campus grounds, we shivered & blew 'smoke' out of our mouths, with our hands shoved deep in our pockets. the cold air seemed to hold excitement, if only for the coming holiday season, being back on our old stomping grounds, & the thought of the friends & food we'd later experience.

justin told me later that this was the time he was taking to prepare & get his thoughts together. and as we walked up the path of bricks bearing the names of all of tech's graduates, he spoke of how this was where we had met & grown to know & love each other.

as we approached the tech seal - which is rumored to be bad luck to walk on if you have not yet graduated - we laughed about our plans to 'tebow' upon our college emblem. apparently 'tebowing' is the new 'planking,' & justin & i had been joking about taking pictures of ourselves 'tebowing' during our walk around campus.

and of course, it was my turn first. i was a bit embarrassed, even though there was next to no one out on campus, as it was so unseasonably cold that morning. but i knelt down as if i were praying before a football game, in the most tebow-like fashion i could muster, & justin took a quick picture of me.

then, it was his turn.

he knelt down in true tim tebow form - right there on top of the louisiana tech emblem - & i took a quick picture of him. i expected him to hop up quickly & come view the photo i had just taken, but he stayed down, on his knee, perched on top of what i like to think of as the heart of tech campus. it was then that he asked me to come show it to him. he looked at the picture on the phone, smiling, & then he looked at me.

'well, since i'm already down here, i thought it would be a good chance for me to ask if you'd marry me,' he said, face still smiling, in a huge grin of happiness, excitement, & nerves, i'm sure.

i'm pretty sure my jaw hit the ground as a stammered out, 'wwhh-h-haaa-ttt?' i looked at my dream ring in disbelieving shock, put justin's phone carefully down so i wouldn't drop it - in a surprising, uncharacteristic moment of cool-headed logic - then hugged him. i could feel my whole body shaking & finally i managed to answer this question of questions with a yes. i was beyond myself with shock & excitement. it was then that he asked me if i'd like to put the ring on, & of course i quickly held out my left hand excitedly.

the rest of the day was a whirlwind. immediately after the proposal, we sat on a bench at the lady of the mist & called family & friends. i just couldn't stop saying how excited i was, how much i loved my ring, & how excited i was to get married, & justin said all of the same things back to me, equally as excited & thrilled.

then came a visit to the sae house, where we'd met years ago, followed by tailgating, music, pictures, congratulations, & celebration. i have never been hugged so much in my entire life. i was on cloud nine, in my element, in my very favorite place. as i've said before, he couldn't have picked a better, more perfect, or more meaningful place for our engagement. and as he mentioned to me, this will be even more reason for us to head back to ruston each year for homecoming, which, of course, i love.

after all the tailgating excitement, we were bound for the dawg house, where we feasted on fried pickles, chicken salad, & burgers on jalapeno cheese bread. we toasted with celebratory drinks, played darts, & laughed so much my ribs hurt for days. it was truly a picturesque ruston weekend, the ones i anticipate from afar. but the difference was, that after this particular visit, i was leaving with a ring on my finger, a fiance, & a great big hope for the exciting future to come.

-- 

in our time together at tech from 2004 to 2008,

there was bountiful laughter & happiness.

there were a sprinkled-in handful of tears, words, & events

which made me wish for the brighter days.

but one thing is for certain:

that in those four years, that in ruston, louisiana, that on tech's campus -

we have met some of the best & most influential people of our lives... our best friends.

and, of course, we found each other.

(photo one - taken by laura williamson

photo two - homecoming, our junior year at tech, taken with a point & shoot)