I saw her from a mile away. But, to be fair, everyone did.

Her lime green tank top was yelling at us the minute we arrived on the platform. What’s she doing here? Who is she? My questions got answered quickly. Her name was Haley and she was coming along for the ride on the final orientation of the summer.

I saw so many new faces that summer. Hundreds in fact, but that comes with the territory when your leading college freshman orientations. This was no freshman. If she was I would’ve seen that tank top hours ago at 8 a.m., but here she was on the train platform before we had even arrived.

It was very peculiar, but, as I would learn so was she. She greeted some of the other orientation leaders like old friends and I had no idea who she was at the time.

She seemed so odd. She smiled a lot, long black hair, and had her sunglasses about. I couldn’t help but think the sun shined brighter when we got to the platform, but enough that I was working. We went downtown like always, talked to freshman like always, walked around like always, but this was no ordinary trip.

She stuck around, she laughed loud, she played a lot, and everyone seemed like they were having a good time, then she spoke to me. She asked if she could help the freshman with the scavenger hunt, she was from Chicago like me, but I couldn’t know that yet. She took a list and didn’t know a thing, she was funny. The day got tired, the sun set, and we all left. On the way, back I walked with her, it was me, Haley, and royalty. That’s Princess Burch in case you’re wondering.

Didn’t I mention her yet? She’s so important to this whole story! You see, if Princess never agreed to lead orientations in April I wouldn’t have worked with her all summer. If I wouldn’t have worked with her all summer then Haley wouldn’t have been at the platform that day. If Haley wasn’t at the platform that day we wouldn’t have talked downtown. If we didn’t talk downtown I wouldn’t have been able to joke around with her and Princess on the way back to campus. If I joke around with her and Princess on the way back to campus Haley and I may have never become friends. And If Haley and I never became friends everything would be completely different.

You see, that all happened 3 years ago in August. 2 days before I had to move back on campus. On the last orientation of the summer. It seemed like perfect timing or fate that I should meet her there that day. Now I know it might have been, because that was 3 years ago in August and in July of 2017 Haley and I have a 2-year anniversary.

I should have dressed nicer that day, I should have picked out my hair even more, I should have arrived on the platform early, I should have smiled all day, but hindsight is 20/20. Because if I would have known I would meet the love of my life that day I would want to act like it.