Not long ago...

Two people, each with reasonably good judgment and decently legitimate papers decided that they would like to spend the rest of their lives together. But it started earlier than that. Let's go back seven years or so.

Tyler was but a scrawny junior in High School, with a freshly aligned smile and a Forty-Niner jacket. Tina too was a junior, an actress, an artist, and a sucker for the syncopated rhymes of a young aspiring poet. They began dating, holding hands, eating lunch together and calling one another at night - going out to movies and shows, dances and dinners. When it came time to go to college, as luck would have it both Tina and Tyler chose Chico State and left for the "Big City" in August of 1998 where they continued dating and getting to know one another all over again as they learned what it meant to be university students; living with roommates and taking care of themselves and each other.

In their second year at Chico State, Tina pointed out that there was a program in the college of Humanities and Fine Arts that involved a semester abroad in London, England. Tyler agreed that a semester abroad would be an experience of a lifetime and shared in Tina's excitement. They attended the informational seminars on campus and decided that they should start saving then for the opportunity coming up in their junior year.

They applied to the program in fall of 2000, with a good deal saved for the possibility, and were accepted into the 45 student London Semester program. As neither of them had been "abroad" before (Tyler had been to Canada, but he was quite young), both were extremely excited and didn't know what to think or how to prepare. The entire thought of being five thousand miles from where they grew up in another country and culture both frightened and excited them. On 12 January 2001, they boarded a Virgin Airlines 747, heads reeling and stomachs churning, bound for London.

On the whole, the experience gave them a fuller understanding of the world, a better perspective on American Culture, and a wide collection of memories that they will cherish for the rest of their lives. If you want to read about their travels in more detail, Tyler kept a semi-frequent account of their time abroad.

Now that they've both graduated with undergraduate degrees and moved into the next chapter of their lives (with Tyler working full time and Tina pursuing a graduate degree), there is a sense of warmth, love, and happiness that permeates their relationship. Strong and committed to one another, they look forward to their new life together as husband and wife.

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