Matt Johns, a mutual friend, extended an invitation to join him and his fraternity brothers, Lachlan, who was visiting, along with the newest Dallas resident, Sam.

​​Upon meeting and reliving some college memories we quickly learned that I had been to parties at USC not only that Sam was at, but in his house. We had a lot of mutual friends yet had never met.

Shortly after this discovery, covid started. I jetted off to Michigan and didn’t see or hear from him. Months later, I returned to Dallas in August 2020, reunited with Matt and our friends, including Sam, just in time for the excitement of college football season. As we bonded over your shared passion for Gamecock football, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more between Sam and I.

He hasn’t asked for my number but we started talking through instagram. A few more weeks of talking and watching the gamecocks with friends and I am sold on Sam, the only issue is I don't know if he is into me. He hasn’t asked for my number, asked me out on a date so I am afraid he wasn’t interested.

I knew there was only one way to find out, gather my courage, be bold and make my move.I knew he enjoyed cooking so,I sent a DM asking if he wanted to cook dinner for me. My nerves compelled me to add that he didn't need to feel obligated to dine with me. He accepted my invite over dinner and we arranged our evening. However, as the night drew to a close, he had yet to inquire about my number. Growing weary of waiting, I decided to take matters into my own hands and offered it to him. And in that moment, our story truly began.

When I moved to Dallas at the end of 2019, I did not expect the next year to pan out the way it did. I know most of you are thinking that I am talking about Covid, which was a big part of it, but I am actually talking about meeting the love of my life within months of moving to a brand-new city where I only knew one person. I hate to admit it, but I owe Matt Johns for introducing me to Lauren.

Matt and I were at his favorite bar (and soon to be my favorite bar) Stan’s Blue Note hanging out in late February 2020 with Lachlan who was visiting me in my new city and another of my soon to be great friends here in Dallas, Chad. (Quick aside in my rambling story, the amount of people in Lauren and I’s life that have met at Stan’s is alarming.) As we were all hanging out Matt let us know that he had invited another South Carolina grad who lived nearby to come say hi to Lachlan. About 30 minutes later, in walked Lauren. We said hello that night and chatted, but I was more preoccupied with drinking and bullshitting with Matt and Lachlan. The irony of this whole preamble is I really didn’t talk to Lauren that night and wouldn’t really start getting to know her till after she spent most of the early pandemic in Michigan.

Flashforward to August 2020, Lauren is back in Dallas, and I have spent the first 8 months in Dallas doing whatever it is we did during those early days of the pandemic. Lauren and I reconnected at the Gamecock club watch parties that she had run for the last decade since graduating. It was at these first couple of watch parties (and after parties at my old townhouse) that we really started to get to know each other. I gravitated toward her because she was funny, kind, and cared more about some bad South Carolina football teams than me. Most importantly she didn’t put up my typically sarcastic demeanor, usually calling me out for being an ass.

After a few weeks of talking exclusively via Instagram DMs (what can I say I an idiot who never asked for her real phone number) Lauren took the initiative and asked me if I like steak. Well, she gave me the options of cooking her a steak dinner or joining her at a steakhouse in Dallas where she had made a reservation for two. I laughed at the upfront text and chose option 1, cooking her dinner and at that point she sent me her cell phone number so we could stop communicating through DMs. I may work in comms and be a great with people, but yeah I am kind of an idiot when it comes to picking up social cues sometimes.

After that first dinner at my place we started spending most of our free time together and really started to get to know each other. It took another “once in a lifetime event” though for me to realize that Lauren was someone I loved and wanted to spend all my time with. Dallaska 2021.

After a night out with her friend for Galentines and a wild evening at Stan’s (ask me about it in person if you want the whole story) Lauren was not feeling her best as the cold and snow started that Sunday morning. I told her just to stay at my house that week in case the weather got really bad. Little did we know how bad it would be and how long she would be stuck with me. After being stuck with me for a week inside (her friend Katie was there too for a bit of a buffer since she also lost power) and not wanting to murder each other, I realized that I loved her and told her as much.

Lauren is one of the nicest, most thoughtful and passionate people I have ever gotten to spend time with. She always goes above and beyond to help not only her friends but anyone who comes into her orbit. She has changed my life for the better and been there for me through some of the toughest moments of my life so far. I couldn’t imagine not spending the rest of my life with her, luckily I don’t have to.