Unfortunately, Maggie will not be joining us on the big day but she is still one of the most important people in my life. Maggie was my life boat throughout my undergraduate years at Purdue. We originally met in our sorority while I was a little baby pledge. When it came time to choose our Bigs, I was crossing my fingers that Maggie would choose me. I am so lucky to have her as a role model and support in my life. Maggie is incredibly talented, and even if she can not be present on our wedding day, she will be responsible for a huge contribution to our celebration! We will be missing you Mag!
I can easily say that George was my first real best friend. Meeting George changed my life. We became a dynamic duo, causing chaos at every turn. We bonded over our love of computers, creating, motorized vehicles, skateboards, and gaming. From being inseparable to being states apart we have stayed connected. George is the least official, yet somehow the most official person I know, which I think makes him the best person to stand up at the alter with us.
It's hard to tell from looking at us, but there was a time when George was the thing that brought me and Egolf together. I still remember George going on a vacation leaving Egolf and myself to turn to each other and say "Well I guess we could hang out?" When everyone started going to college, Egolf and myself both stayed home and went somewhere local. It wasn't long before he essentially moved in, setting up his computer on a desk next to mine. Many hard lessons of growing up were learned together and through those lessons Egolf became a brother to me.
Devin entered my life right as I had exited high school and entered life as an "adult". She was this cool new girl that a friend had brought to a party. Being from such a small town, bringing new friends into the group was always an exciting event. I didn't know it at the time, but I had just met someone who would go on to become such an incredibly important person in my life. If wasn't all that clear at first however, as we tried to date multiple times throughout our young adulthood; always only lasting a couple of weeks and always ending up in flames. I still remember going to her parents' house and picking up her baby, just thinking "Wow I have no clue how to be an adult". One day Egolf (Justin) comes to me and tells me he has something to run by me. He tells me that he's been seeing that girl we used to hang out with but it's totally nothing serious at all. I actually tell him to be careful because she's practically the devil, but he didn't listen to me. It's a good thing he didn't because that was the true start of her joining Egolf in being one of my best friends. I got to watch them make each other happy and raise that same baby that made me question if I would ever become an "adult". We would go out having fun, spend all night watching old bands on YouTube, or just hang around watching movies. And she was always looking out for what's best for me. I think she was possibly more excited for me to start dating Kate than I was (which was a high bar). Devin has been in my life for well over a decade and has truly helped shape the man I am today. I am so thankful she can be a part of this special day.
For most of my life Austin was a high energy underclassman and while I knew of him, we had never really crossed paths. At one point he was even another friends roommate and I stayed at his apartment but didn't think much of it. Very similiar to some of these other stories, Austin bought a new computer after college and started joining the group every night. He also wanted to play counter-strike specifically, so we began hanging out and playing every single night. In the years since, we have traveled together to events, had many a parties, and so many good times. We sometimes go months without seeing each other, but when we do reunite it is always pretty electric!
I first met Derek as just one of George's younger brother's friends. He would be there with his computer in Coty's room while we had our computers in George's room. It wasn't until I had graduated from college that we would connect again. Derek had just gotten a new computer and had an interest in checking out the new version of a game we played when we were younger, Counter-Strike. This turned into us playing every minute that wasn't dedicated to work. I would have never thought that Derek getting a computer again would change my life, but it turned into a great friendship. We share a love for the same music and movies, we work on house projects together, computer problems, any of it!
Kate was one of the first people I really dated that I didn’t know through at least some extended friend group. This brought along the terrifying reality that I would have to meet all her friends and their significant others. That’s when Alexis and David came into the picture. It was quickly apparent that we were always meant to be friends. It started with just similar interests in geek culture and quickly became many shared hobbies. We kept discovering common interests (old and new) and would dive into the extreme together. Magic The Gathering, playing DnD, enjoying odd beers, and board games all became things we had in common. The true realization that these were my friends and not just because of Kate came when I traveled to meet up with David to play a magic the gathering tournament. I spent the weekend with everyone and Kate couldn’t even go with. At a time when I thought I was too old to make new friends, David surprised me and I couldn’t imagine this day without him.
I first met Andrew through David’s bachelor party. I remember immediately noticing how positive of a person he was and the sheer amount of energy he could light up a room with. I never thought I would see him much after that weekend, but we kept running into each other. Similar to David we just clicked in a way that I never would have expected. Many life events helped me be more comfortable with myself, but becoming friends with Andrew was one of the biggest. He knows how to express himself with absolute confidence and it’s contagious. Each week getting together to somehow stumble through the mishaps of another DnD adventure helped continue to grow our friendship. Nothing is more exciting that when Andrew and I get to see each other and I can’t wait to bring that excitement to my wedding day.