My boyfriend is one of the greatest people I know. He is kind, smart, and wonderful. Every day I fall more and more in love with him. I knew as soon as I met him he was going to be an important person in my life. He’s taught me so many things from the short two years we’ve been together. Every day he makes me strive to keep up with and be an “Ethan." I feel like these are a few things you need to do to be an “Ethan”:

1. Inspire others to pray more, worry less

Right now he’s going through basic training so our form of communication is solely through letters. At the end of every letter I receive from him he always reminds me that he is praying for me and that I, too should pray hard.Pray for strength through a big transition period in our lives. Pray to understand that even though there are tough days they do lead to brighter ones. He even prays for the safety of me and my roommates.He constantly advocates that I give my all and find time every day to pray and send love into the universe. I have heard numerous times him telling a fellow trainee to pray and even pray for them. I am thankful to have someone in my life like this.I strive to encourage others to pray and send love into the world like he does. My favorite verse he tells me is "The mountains might shake. The hills might be removed. But my faithful love for you will never be shaken. And my covenant that promises peace to you will never be removed,” says the Lord. He shows you his loving concern.

2. Don’t be too serious

Before we started dating I was a more anxious and scattered individual than ever before. I couldn't laugh at the dumb mistakes I made or the tough times in life, I just got super upset about them. Being with Ethan taught me to not take everything so seriously. So what if I fell in the quad and everyone saw? I need to get up and dust myself off and just laugh at how it must've looked rather than feeling self-conscious. Not every blunder is a bad thing. Falling in the quad isn't the end of the world.

Being able to laugh at yourself is an important part of life. Take a breathe and just laugh, it really wasn't that embarrassing.

3. On time is late, early is on time

I was always running behind in high school. You want me to meet you at 7? I probably didn't show up till 7:30 at the earliest. My friends knew that if I said pick me up at 5:00 I wouldn't be ready till 6:00.As soon as I got with Ethan I realized being late was no longer in the cards. If we were supposed to be at the school by 8:30 he'd get flustered if we weren't at least there by 8:10. If I said pick me up at 5:00 he expected me to be out the door by 4:50. Luckily I adjusted to his being on time and integrated it into my life. Instead of showing up for my 8:30 class at 8:30 I’m there by 8:15 and my teachers notices this. They’re much more willing to work with me on things because I’m almost always one of the first faces they see when they walk into class.So thanks Ethan for changing the clock on my phone to be 5 minutes faster.

4. Love hard

I have never loved or been loved the way I have with Ethan. He doesn't hold back when it comes to showing and telling me how he feels. We both fell for each other hard and fast and haven't stopped since. While in other relationships I felt slow and timid and like I had to wait to show my full, true self.Ethan and I felt comfortable instantly and knew from the first date that this was it. I’d found my other half. No fear whatsoever, no holding back. We are done searching but that doesn't mean we’re done trying. I have never been loved so hard. Even before he left for basic training he made sure I knew I was well missed and loved. I have a picture from with 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 on it and our picture inside, without me knowing he wrote a note on inside and told me to look for it when he left to help till I got a letter.Be that thoughtful. Care deeply for one another. Don't take peoples presence for granted.

---

I hope you take these qualities with you throughout your life and try to be the best person you can be. When I think of a great person I can't think of anyone better than my Ethan. No one is more loving or kinder than him. Hopefully, I can one day be half as good a person as he is.