For anyone who's followed this blog at any point over the last few years, I've written on here multiple times before about how I've had issues with the dating scene in Utah, under this "Plight of the Provo Bachelor" subtitle. I've tried meeting girls through work, through school, through church congregations, online dating... and while I certainly had a lot of different experiences and made a lot of friends, nothing ended up lasting past those early stages friendship and numerous first dates. Nothing, that is, until last October.
I've mentioned the dating app Tinder on here before, and if I remember right I actually said I'd sworn it off, along with all other forms of online dating. (I may edit this post to link back to where I said it specifically, but I digress.) However, a little over a year ago, I moved up to a city called Sandy, much farther away from where I'd previously set myself up to look for a potential girlfriend. I thought that, since Tinder is based partially on your geographic location, I'd give it one more go (which would have been my fourth or fifth time doing so). And it didn't take long to eventually match with one incredible young woman named Chellie Dazey.
Chellie messaged me first through the app, which was a pleasant surprise, and she and I quickly were able to talk about things we had in common. We're both nerdy, both active in the Church, both avid movie goers, both open to new experiences, and we even had a unique connection: even though she lives in Utah, she's originally from North Carolina – specifically from the same city that my brother-in-law's family is from, whose family she's actually known for longer than I have. We "matched" through Tinder in late October and went on our first date in November. It wasn't anything fancy; literally we went to Taco Bell and watched some movies back at my place. But from that point forward, we hit it off very well, and officially began our relationship in early December.
One of the things that I've loved about our relationship is the open level of communication we've had since day one. We'd both had mixed experiences with dating in the past, and neither one of us enjoyed the dating "game" that so often gets played these days. We knew what we wanted, which was to eventually go to the temple to have a marriage that would last for all eternity. Yet we knew that that didn't mean we couldn't have fun while dating; many of the funniest moments I can remember have been with Chellie and I'm certain that she can say the same thing as well. We've had certain conversations where we try to out-pun each other; sometimes we just message each other only using GIFs, or we could spend an evening doing almost nothing and still say that we had a good time. We've got enough interests in common to know that we always have things to do, but she's also helped me to try new things, getting excited when I like them too and understanding if it's not quite my thing. She can make me laugh without saying a single word, sympathizes with any issues I may have, and comforts me out of pure love. I can say with full confidence that she is my best friend.
I can go on and on and on and on about this truly best thing that's ever happened to me, but that's really it. I don't have any kind of argument to discuss with this post or heated debate to join in on; those can wait for other posts. I just wanted to rave a bit about the wonderful woman I will wed next week.
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| From our engagement pics |
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| When we got to meet Weird Al Yankovic, alongside a good friend of ours |
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| At FanX, one of the conventions in Utah that we'll probably be making an annual tradition to attend |
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| Taken at the Midway Ice Castles. I keep this one on my desk at work. |
