The summer of 2015 was absolute hell. It was one of the worst summers I have ever had. My grandfather passed away in April of 2015, and that brought me down. In June, I lost my best friend, my boyfriend for two years. I dealt with depression all summer. I had no faith it was going to get better. I went through counseling as my parents claimed I was “okay." I looked okay, but I knew deep down I was not. I started to feel better once I put myself back out there by the end of the summer.

It was towards the end of the summer, and I was depressed and basically drained. My best friend Harley told me that I needed to move on, and I needed to meet someone new. I listened to her because she was right. So I downloaded an app, Tinder. People always told me not to go on sites like that, but I was not listening to that fact. A couple days later, I got a message from a guy. He looked very nice, and he seemed polite. I messaged him back, and we talked for days. About everything. Football, relationships, life, etc. It was like we clicked.

A couple weeks went by, and we were on our first date. It was a warm, July night. He came up to my house, and picked me up with his mom. It was nice to get out, and have fun. We went to Old Country Buffet. It took a while for us to talk because it was the first time we have met in person, after many, many weeks. It was cute, and it was really nice. He just smiled, and it was cute. It was like I was happy again. I was genuinely smiling, and playing around. By the end of the night, he dropped me off. He said that he loved the night, and that we should do it again. He hugged me and kissed my cheek goodbye. I went into my house, and my mom smiled, and her face lit up at the fact I was smiling. That was a night I will never forget.

The next morning I woke up to a couple calls and text messages, and one voicemail saying, “I know I should have asked last night, but will you be my girlfriend?” and it was dead. After looking at the texts messages, and everything. I obviously called him, and I talked to him, and I said, “I was your girlfriend the day we started talking.” I will never, ever forget this day, and it will be framed in my mind. One year, and a couple months later, and I still get surprises from him, or the occasional, “Will you be my wife in the near future?” I hope to stay with this man for the rest of my life.

This man, Kyle Begley, will and has been my gain in life. I wake up every morning, knowing I have something from him. Knowing he will not let me go to sleep sad, or waking up with nothing. He is my forever man, and I cannot wait to spend my life with him. He has helped me through so much within the past year, and I could not be more thankful.