So there I was in the hot, loud, and crowded mobile Twinkie we call a school bus. The year was 2009 and it was sometime in the third quarter of my sophomore year at CMR. I was sitting next to my long-time friend Jordan Smith, who got on the uber-twinkie at the same stop I did.

I’m not sure why this day I averted from my usual public transportation ritual consisting of putting my head down, listening to music, and taking a nice long nap, but on this day I was awake and alert.

I spoke to her almost every day on the bus, and we really met each other through her best friend Jordan Kemp. She had started to text me awhile earlier while she was on a choir trip (I think that’s what it was). Her and some friends prank texted me, and it kind of went on from there.

Anyways, back to this sunny day, sophomore year. Bright eyed and bushy tailed, I was as hyper as can be. I remember glancing upwards at her as she got on the bus, a few stops after mine. There was no magical moment where we locked eyes as she entered the bus, staring each other down from across the room.

No, picture a creepy obsessive stalker, as he sets his eyes on his prey. It was the moment she sat down, that for some reason on this day I decided that she was the girl I want to be with.

 I’m not talking marriage, or for the rest of my life, or anything deep like that. I just knew at that moment that I was going to make her mine.

It didn’t take long; I worked hard to get her to be with me. Every chance I could get, I was spending time with her. After school, I would ask her if she wanted to hang out almost every day. We went bowling a few times. So what inevitably happened?

That’s right; she started dating one of my best friends. Yeah, didn’t’ see that one coming either, believe me.

However, they broke up after a few weeks, and after awhile we decided to give it a try. Who would’ve thought that now; a few years later we would be engaged and on the path to marriage. Especially considering that during the summer of that year she had to move away with her family.

Yeah, the military does that. Undaunted, we made it work. Granted we have had our problems, as any long distance relationship does.

We’ve broken up three times, and over the past few years we have been on and off. I’ve dated other people, but I have never even come close to being over her. I don’t know how I fell so hard for her, or why, or when. I did though, and I fall for her more and more every day.

I can’t tell you how much criticism I get for being with Meagan. It’s unfortunate, but people refuse to believe that at 18 years old, I can possibly be in love, and can’t have already decided to be with one girl for the rest of my life. I’m not the only one, it happens. It happened to my parents.

I am aware that it isn’t likely; I’m tired of hearing that it’s not going to work, because it is. It already IS working. If we could last as long as we have over thousands of miles, where most high school relationships only last a matter of weeks, I do maintain some sense of entitlement.

Meagan and I have been through a lot. When push comes to shove, the opinions of other people matter absolutely none and honestly, it gets me fired up when others criticize our relationship.

However, those whom understand enough to accept my relationship with Meagan often ask me how we’ve made it this far, how we have survived long distance, and why she is worth all the extra effort that it takes.

*Cracks knuckles*

I believe it goes a little bit like this: “Dlya beshenoi sobaki , sem verst nekryuk dolgo” or: “For a mad dog, seven miles is not a long detour.” It’s a Russian proverb that means simply that if you want something enough, the hardships one may face aren’t truly as hard as they seem.

Staying together while being so far away from each other, for so long wouldn’t be possible if the both of us weren’t completely head over heels in love with each other. We’re both on the same page, always.

It’s not like I can never see her. I “Skype” her almost every night, and text her constantly. I would be lying if I said it wasn’t difficult. It’s absolutely excruciating being away from her for such long periods of time.

 I see her as much as I can. I saw her this summer in Pennsylvania, and I’m going to see her in a few weeks for Spring Break and her birthday. So really, the long distance part doesn’t bother me as much as most think it would.

Don’t get me wrong, I wish every day that I could be WITH her, but the fact of the matter is that as of right now, we can’t be together. So we’re dealing with it.

Plain and simple, when you’re truly in love with somebody, you’ll do absolutely anything and everything for them. That’s what this is. That’s why we’re pushing through. Those who can see no further than their own hand in front of their face don’t understand this.

What people don’t understand is that in no way did I intend to fall in love and be engaged at 18 years old. Who would? I fully expected to be getting plastered and be sleeping around with the entirety of the female population in my college.

Isn’t that every guy’s dream? Exactly.

So why on Earth would I give that lifestyle up?

I love her!

It literally IS that simple. When you find the girl or boy that you know without any doubt in your mind is the one you want to spend the rest of your life with, you’d change your mind too.

Why do I love her? The question is more “Why wouldn’t I love her?” It’s almost impossible to find something that I don’t find absolutely perfect about her character. I am fully aware that she is by far not the most perfect person. In fact, she’s the most difficult person I’ve ever met. She is just as flawed as I am, and I love her for it.

One quote really sums it up.

“You come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly” – Sam Keen

I hope this amazing piece of writing awesomeness explains just why it is that I’m engaged at 18, and more of why I’m engaged to a girl in FLORIDA at 18-years-old.

So in closing, my advice to any reader is this:

Don’t listen to other people. Be your own person, and do what makes you the most happy without taking other people’s criticism into account. Find the person that makes you feel like the luckiest human being alive, and never, ever let them go.

I know I won’t.