May 23. Word of the day: Year.

I plan to start blogging either daily or a couple days a week. I have not ever blogged before so I am excited to see how this impacts my life. I used to write all the time when I was in high school, but for some reason I stopped and just recently I have found myself missing it. So, here goes nothing. This time last year I was just settling in here in California. My husband and I had moved here from Michigan. He is in the Marine Corps so in all actuality he had been out here for about 2 years before I made the move. We got married on April 20th of last year. It is weird to think that we have been married for just over a year and I have been thousands of miles away from my family and friends for a year. This past year has been one of the hardest, yet rewarding of my entire 21 years of life.

A little back story about my husband and I... Anthony was a junior when I was a senior in high school. We met in a forensics class in 2009. He was the slacker kid that always had headphones in his ears. He had long, dark, perfect spiral curly hair, light brown skin, dark brown eyes, perfect kissing lips and his clothes never fit too tight. I was not popular, but I knew everyone in the small school that we went to and I had many friends from all the different cliques. He was definitely not what my friends would have expected me to talk to, let alone date. One day in class we were told to pick partners for a duo. We had to pick someone we had not worked with before. Anthony pointed to me and cocked his head to the side. I already had a partner, so I told him I'd be his partner next time. And that was the end of it.

I went a couple weeks without talking to him. Over those couple weeks I found myself observing him in the hall, in class, after class, etc. I would find myself trying to find him in all the chaos after the last bell of the day rung. I didn't tell anyone I was secretly attracted to him. I was in the drama club with his best friend, so one day I decided to ask for Anthony's number. His friend told me not to call him because he's an asshole. I brushed it off and took the number anyway. Earlier that day Anthony and I had decided to be partners for the upcoming duos in class, so I tried to talk myself into thinking that it was purely for practice reasons. But deep down I had to talk to him. I had to. So, after school I called. I let it ring and ring, nobody answered so I hung up. A little relieved that nobody answered I finally took a breath. Then my phone rang. It was Anthony. Long story short, we talked all night...every night for at least a month. We were together before and after school. Lips locked and holding hands almost the entire time. This boy was irresistible.

We have been together ever since. We have had some rough times but...for the most part we have been together. So anyway, this entire past year has been the wildest ride in our relationship. We have been thousands of miles away from our family. I didn't have any friends here until last November and he only has work friends... so to say the least it has been interesting. I cannot express enough how much I love my husband. He has taught me so much about how to care for someone more than you care about yourself. He has given me the opportunity to be a more loving person in more ways than one. I am grateful for this. I am grateful for him.

For the majority of the next year in our marriage he will be deployed. Then for the next year and a half after that I will be finishing my bachelors in Michigan and he will still be in California. The next years will be hard for us but I have faith that we are strong enough to conquer this mountain. I will continue tomorrow. -Victoria