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Our Story,

Brienne & Eric

On April 27, 2010 my life changed forever with one simple email. It was my senior year of college in Boston and I had finally ended a long, unhealthy relationship six months prior. With the realization that I would be graduating and all of my friends would be dispersing in hopes of finding jobs, I did something completely out of my element, I posted an ad on Craigslist. A simple, 22 year old girl from West Virginia looking for someone to be friends with, hang out with and explore Boston with. Never in a million years would I have imagined what would come next.

At 5:43pm there it was, an email with “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)” in the subject line. The sender, ejalves87, a senior studying Political Science at Northeastern University, close to his family, intelligent and driven from Tewksbury, MA. I pondered over that email for several hours, reading and re-reading the message several times. Was this person real? Should I respond? This has to be too good to be true, right? And if he was real, what do you say to the man of your dreams. After much debate, I decided to take a chance and send a response. Twenty plus emails back and forth later (which I still have saved) we finally graduated to texting, becoming Facebook friends and talking through iChat. I thought that was taking it slow but things were about to get a whole lot slower.

Thanks to the poor economy, being plagued with the “inexperienced recent college grad” title and the outrageous cost of living in Boston, my worst fears had been confirmed. I had to move home with my parents, and for me that meant back to the middle of nowhere West Virginia. Nearly 13 hours away from my new found “friend”, who I had never even met, never got the chance to go to dinner, see a movie or even take a walk along the Charles with. Being the overly dramatic and pessimistic person I am, I thought for sure it was over. There would never be a Brienne & Eric, I would never get to tell him how I felt and I would never get to make sure he wasn’t a copycat of the Craigslist Killer. However more than 3 years later, I am happy to tell you I could not have been more wrong, and he is not a Craigslist Killer wannabe.

For over 2 years we spoke every day and night, starting with a simple good morning and ending with a simple goodnight. For almost two years I dreamed of being able to visit Boston to see him, make sure he felt the same way, tell him that I loved him and have our first date. Finally that day came in January 2012. Our first date, the romantic, crazy, over the top candle lit, flower filled night that every girl dreams of at Chipotle. Ok, so there were no candles or flowers, but you really can’t go wrong with burritos! After hours of sitting together talking, eating chips and burritos, I knew that I had been right all along. He was the one. He was my one and I had to move back to Boston someday, somehow. That day came in June 2012 when I took a leap of faith, dropped everything, quit my job and made the biggest move of my life, back to Boston.

It was time to prove everyone wrong, defy the odds and finally be together, and we did. I had never fought so hard for something in my entire life, waited so long or put my whole heart into it, but Eric was worth it and the proposal finally came on May 24th.

I cannot wait to walk down the aisle to my best friend in Gloucester on May 24, 2014, exactly one year after he proposed and made all of my dreams come true. That Saturday won’t just be our wedding day, it will be a reminder of everything we have been through, the unbelievable love we have for each other and proof that good things do come to those who wait, even if it takes nearly four years. It’s our way of saying “take that” bad economy, difficult job search and empty bank accounts. Proof to all of our family and friends that thought we were crazy and said it would never work, when you know, you know and that no matter what, you should follow your heart. It just might lead you to the person of your dreams, no matter how crazy the journey.