Taking a chance on love

Feature Story
By:Missy Talkington

She was what they call an army brat. She had traveled most of her childhood living in different states, countries, somtimes on an army base and sometimes not. At the age of 16 she was sure the moving and what she considered at the time as heartache was over. She was attending highschool in a small town in Idaho and was dating who she thought was her high school sweet heart that she was going to marry. The news came at the dinner table one night, though, that it was time for the family to be uprooted again. All she could think about was leaving her friends and who she thought was the love of her life. Little did she know, though, that in her next destination in Aurora, IL she would start a whole new life she never dreamed of having.

She started at a large public school and transferred to a smaller private catholic high school. It was there, in her Junior year of high school, when she started dating the man she would spend the rest of her life with. "I was not quick to take the relationship seriously because I knew it would only be time until I would have to move again if my dad got restationed" said Lauren Ashley. She tells me that there was something different about him and that he kept her on her toes unlike any guy she had been with before. It wasnt long until he took her out on a date and the words, "I love you" came spilling out of her mouth. She made a phone call to her best friend and was almost in tears because she was so embarrased that she had told him she loved him after such a short time. "I even dropped my keys as I tried to get into my car and go home afterwards I was so flustered" says Lauren. They dated throughout the rest of high school. Come senior year her dad made the announcement that at the end of the year he was being reassigned to a station in Germany. This time, though, she decided to stay behind and give this relationship and life with her friends she had made here a chance in college.

Sure enough, her boyfriend must have felt the same way about her because he proposed to her shortly after high school graduation. The couple today has yet to pick a date, but are happily engaged and have a beautiful baby girl. I am happy to say that I have watched my two best friend's relationship grow into an amazing life together even after I got that phone call the night she had told him she loved him on accident. Taking a chance on love has its chances and for this couple it did exactly that. "I had the choice to go with my family or stay and go with my gut feeling, and I chose to stay and I wouldnt take it back for the life of me" says Lauren.