My boyfriend Justin is getting ready to graduate from the University of Alabama in less than 2 weeks and I am so incredibly proud of him. He has worked so hard in college and he has been so driven. I love how hard working he is; it is one of my most favorite things about him. He has always worked hard in everything that he does. I love how focused he gets when he has a new challenge (even when he ignores me even though he doesn't realize it.)
In less than 2 weeks he will be graduating with a degree in Electrical Engineering with minors in Physics and Math. Yes, he is basically a genius haha. I really am just so proud of him, and with our educations coming to an end it got me thinking about everything that we have been through together. The entire time that we have been dating we have been in school. We went through highschool and college together, so I am excited to see how things will be when neither one of us are in school anymore....we will be GROWNUPS!! AH!
I was 14 and a freshman at Grissom High School when I first found out who Justin was. Several of my friends had crushes on him our freshman year, but it wasn't until the homecoming dance freshman year that I really got to know him. Justin went to homecoming with one of my friends and a big group of us went to eat dinner at O'Charleys before the dance. I remember that I sat across from Justin and we started talking and getting to know eachother at dinner. The great thing about the group of us all going with our dates as friends was that we all danced with eachother once we got to the dance. As the night went on it ended up that Justin and I kept dancing with eachother. As time went on, I always went out of my way to make several unnecessary trips to the water fountain during dance 6th period so that I could peek into the football workout room where Justin was. I have always loved the way he looks in workout shorts! I think he has the cutest legs haha.
As the fall of 2001 went on we started dating. I will never forget when Justin called me and "asked me out" and exactly where I was sitting in my room. Our first date was to the movies to see Monsters Inc. :) During highschool we went to a lot of movies! When we started dating I remember telling one of my friends freshman year that I can see Justin being the guy that I date all through highschool, and I ended up being right!
We went to so many dances together during highschool; homecomings, proms, kappa gammas and kappa rhos. I remember always being so nervous to see him when he came to pick me up. I wanted him to like my dress, hair, makeup and everything else haha.
The moment that I knew Justin was something special was actually during a really sad time in his life. His grandparents from North Carolina had come to visit and while they were visisting his grandfather had a heart attack and died at Justin's house. We got checked out of school and went to his memorial service a few days later. During the service Justin reached over, grabbed my hand and squeezed it. I knew at that very moment that I wanted to be there for him forever and that whenever he was going to hurt I would also because I loved him so much.
Highschool was really a lot of fun, and even though we did take a few breaks from eachother, we always ended up having an even stronger relationship when we got back together. I will always remember riding around in his car listening to Nirvana, going to football games to cheer him on, and taking the long route to class if it meant that I got to spend more time with him in the halls. I always thought it was crazy that in our 4 years of highschool we only had one class together.
Graduating from highschool and moving to Tuscaloosa together to start college was such an exciting time. Having him there made the transition and missing my family so much easier. We got to spend so much more time together while we lived in Tuscaloosa than we did in highschool. We made so many friends together that will be in our lives forever, and we grew as a couple. College was one of the best times that we will ever have, and I am so thankful that i was able to share all of it with Justin.
-I love how on every single date that we have ever been on he has ALWAYS walked me to my door and kissed me goodnight.
-I love how protective he is of me; I always feel the safest when I am with him.
-I love how he still loved me when he saw me after i got out of the hospital with hives and cuts all over my face.
-I love how my mom trusts him enough to tell him that my grandfather and cat had passed away and he was able to wait and tell me after I had finished my organic chemistry test.
-I love how he has watched my brother grow up and how he fits right into my family.
-I love to see him with his grandmothers because they love him so much and he is so sweet to them.
-I love how babies always look at him when we are in public and how good he is with kids.
-I love how every single day I am with him I laugh at least 10 times.
-I love how he puts up with my moodiness and he loves me even when I am rediculous (which is a lot.)
-Most of all, I love all of the memories we had over the last almost 10 years and all of the memories we are going to have for the next 70 or so.
Here are some pictures of us through the years. There are a lot, but trust me they are only a fraction of the many we have taken...
Lauren! This is the sweetest post and it made me cry! I love you two :) -Alison T.
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