Today we have been dating for 5 1/2 years so we thought it'd be a good day to share our story.
At least Biology class was good for one thing...
In 1999, Lauren and her family moved from Seattle to Williamston. Rob and his family had also moved to Williamston a year earlier from Lake Orion. Rob sat in front of Lauren in Mr. Jolin's biology class, first semester of our freshman year of high school. To say the least, we both shared a common dislike for this subject. Through the next year we became good friends and started dating on April 25, 2000 (Rob's 15th birthday)! We spent a fun summer together and decided our high school years would be spent best if we were on our own paths and broke-up right before our sophomore year started. Ahhh...high school love.
Skip to senior year of high school...
Our senior year of high school is really when our story starts. By this year our groups of friends had merged together and many nights you would find Lauren and Angelee meeting Rob and Adam (Best Man) at "the Gut" (an informal car show where locals would show off their most prized possessions: their cars). We were simply friends at this point, even though Lauren's mom always asked why we weren't dating. We even went to prom together...with different dates of course! Needless to say, it was a fun year and we had a great friendship.
Ferris is TWO hours away?!?!?
We both remember that day very clearly. Lauren had already moved into her dorm at MSU and Rob's best buddies were helping him move into his dorm at Ferris State University. It wasn't until the two hour drive up to Big Rapids that Lauren realized Rob was going to school so far from East Lansing. During our freshman year at college we kept in touch and exchanged many trips to visit each other in our new homes. Best friends at this point, we spent many late nights on AOL instant messenger telling stories of our first college experiences. The summer of 2004 we all returned from our first year at college and a lot of our friends had grown apart, but we just grew closer. That summer we were together every free minute. Eventually our friendship grew into more and we started dating, but this time was different.Two hours isn't that far away...
The first year that we dated we were going to schools two hours away and still managed to see each other every weekend. Sometimes a week was too long and we would meet in Grand Rapids to see a movie on Wednesday night. This year Lauren also realized she wasn't happy in the advertising program at Michigan State University and wanted to find a new school with a public relations major. Luckily for us, Ferris State University has an outstanding public relations department. So, Lauren made the decision to leave the best school in Michigan (at least when it comes to basketball) and head up to the Big Nasty! It was a risky decision, but possibly one of the best she'd ever made. Ferris State University was a great school for both of us and has provided us with the knowledge and confidence to be where we are today.
In December 2007 we graduated from FSU and decided to move to Los Angeles, CA. Lauren got an internship at Riester Public Relations, Rob got an interview with American Honda and we were on our way! Looking back today, we think we might have been crazy...or just REALLY hopeful. After 48 hours straight through with a brake change in New Mexico (read: Rob and Alan changing brakes outside of Car Quest), a terrible snow storm in Flagstaff and a cash-only toll road at 4am, we had made it to where we are today. After two years of living in LA, we are happy to say we have two great jobs, a great group of friends, a cat (that thinks he is a dog) and a perfect sized apartment. The last 5 1/2 years of our lives have honestly been amazing and allowed us to not only build a great friendship, but an even better relationship. Stay tuned for a future post of "The Engagement."
Moral of the Story: Everything happens for a reason.
