How We Met
About two and a half years ago I was going into my Junior year of college. One of my roommates at the time was from Annapolis, MD and we had spent the majority of that summer at her house, hanging out with her guy friends from the Naval Academy. As typical college girls, we enjoyed messing around on Tinder while at her house because it was an easy way to match with the cute midshipmen nearby. It was harmless fun and she typically knew all of the ones that popped up anyway. At the end of the summer, I went on a cruise with my family, so naturally I kept up with Tinder to avoid conversation with my family. About halfway through the trip, I matched with a very handsome midshipman who happened to be Facebook friends with my roommate. After doing some research, it turned out my roommate was friends of friends with this guy. I’m very skeptical of meeting strangers on the internet, but I decided to chat with this boy because he seemed nice and was very attractive. At the time that our phones connected us, he was in Germany and I was in Nassau, Bahamas…not your typical 20 mile radius Tinder match. He was on vacation, touring Europe by himself, which really intrigued me. How many 22 year olds just go to Europe by themselves, and know what they’re doing?! We continued talking for about a week and decided we should meet in person when he got back to the Academy the following week. He was the only boy I ever gave my number to, and the only boy I ever even considered meeting in person, something just seemed right about him. After he arrived in Annapolis to begin his Firstie (Senior) year at the Naval Academy, I drug my roommate with me to meet him at the Academy. I figured if he wasn’t who he claimed to be, the yard was a safe place to be, and bringing a friend was also good measure. We found each other at Bill the Goat, and Tanner introduced himself, he was even more handsome in person. I was so nervous, but so excited. We walked around the Academy grounds (Tanner, my roommate, and myself) and talked for about 2 hours. It was never forced, awkward, or weird; it was like we had known each other for years. I was hooked. We began dating about 3 weeks after this, and have been together ever since!
how they asked
After Tanner graduated from the Naval Academy in 2014, he headed to Florida to begin Flight School. He spent a year in Florida and in August of 2015 moved to Texas to continue his training. By then we had been dating for 2 years and decided it was the right time to try living together. Flight school is not an easy time for those who choose that route. It is challenging and taxing, and definitely not for the faint of heart. So for the 6 months we had lived together, Tanner was always working hard and very busy. On February 19th, all of his hard work paid off and he received his wings. He is an official Naval Aviator. We spent the weekend celebrating with his family and friends, and then began to prepare for our upcoming move–back to Florida for him to fly his first choice aircraft! On the Wednesday before we moved, we planned to go to a restaurant that we had been dying to go to for a few months. It is at the top of the Omni Hotel in Downtown Corpus Christi. It overlooks all of downtown, with an amazing view of the Bay–at sunset. It was a breathtaking view as we enjoyed our steaks and cheers’d to a great 6 months in a city very far from our homes. After we finished dinner, Tanner suggested we walk around down by the marina since it was such a nice night. We walked over to the water and looked out as a bright orange moon was beginning to rise over the water. It was absolutely the most beautiful view of the moon I have ever seen. We talked and gazed at the moon as Tanner began to tell me how wonderful the past 6 months together had been, in addition to the 2 years before living together. He told me he could not have finished Flight School without me there, and was so glad I came with him. He told me that since shortly after we met he knew that I was who he wanted to spend his life with. He then told me he had something for me, and slowly got down on one knee, and pulled the most beautiful diamond ring out of his jacket pocket and asked me to marry him! Of course I said yes through my tears of surprise and happiness, hugged him, and he slid the gorgeous ring on my finger!
