KIM:

It was noon, and stomachs were rumbling. First day of being at SUNY Cobleskill as a Freshman for orientation. The heat and humidity were so high, there was no way to get cool. With no air conditioning in the dorms, the only thing to do was to join the hordes of other first-semester students heading down to the cafeteria, Champlain Hall.

Kim entered Champlain, and headed down the stairs with her floormates. She was chatting away, looking at the food and a line that snaked in front of her. It seemed like forever that she was on those stairs, when she looked across at the hot bar station, and there was this tall, dark-haired guy, a tall drink of water on that hot day, that caught all of her attention. He was one of the tallest in the room, but he looked kind, nice, shy. He had on a blue Hurley shirt, Steve & Barry's jeans and Wolverine boots. He had on glasses, and kept loading his plate with food.

"I gotta meet this guy" she said to herself in line. As she looked past him, a familiar face was right next to this kid. A guy she went to high school with that apparently was now going to SUNY Cobleskill! O God, maybe he could introduce her? Who knows? She just stood there, chatting away aimlessly with her roommate and new friends, just staring as best she could without getting caught. "He's too hot for me." And she left it at that.

---

ANDREW:

There he was, in line for food. God it was so hot in this place. His parents had left, and there was no word from his third roommate. The new roommate he had was really nice. So far from home, but going to do something that he always loved: study agriculture. Go into farming! Maybe go home and farm someday? He missed the milking at Hoovers, but he was here, in New York, at SUNY Cobleskill.

Ok, so about the food, well, not the best. There was so much, but it was cafeteria food. O well, there's still a bunch AND there were deep-fried perogies! It was a little something from home. His roommate was yammering on about something, but there was food to be had. And tons of girls, lots of them to look at all around. It was hard to focus on either the women or the food. Food won out this time.

Looking up from the hot station, there was this curly-haired short girl looking at me from the stairs. She had on a bright blue shirt that said "Mad Horticulturalist" on the back, and she kept looking at me and then down. Looking at me and then down. Were my glasses falling off my face? Was my hair messed up? Why was this chick staring at me? She turned to face what was obviously her roommate after I made eye contact with her. Her face was turning beet red, and she didn't look at me again. I don't know what her problem is...

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KIM:

That night, there was a BBQ for all the new students, and Kim went with her floormates to see what was going on. Right there at that BBQ, standing next to her high school friend, was this guy, the tall drink of water guy. And he was looking better this time than before. "There is no way, no chance in hell, he's going to be into you" Kim said to herself before walking over to her high school friend as he yelled over to her.

Kim's friend introduced the tall drink of water, "Hey Kim! This is my roommate, Andrew. He's from Pennsylvania."

"Hey" Andrew said to Kim.

"Hi, I'm Kim, I'm from Massachusetts" Kim said to Andrew.

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ANDREW:

Girls were everywhere! And the guys on the floor, since Andrew was in an all-male dorm, were ready to get to this BBQ. Free food is better than no food at all. And, it's a great time to see the girls. Andrew and his roommate headed down to get free chicken, hotdogs and hamburgers. At the back of Prentice, there that girl was AGAIN. She was staring at him. Andrew's roommate then turned and said, "Holy shit, it's Kim! I had no idea she was going here!" We actually started walking over to this girl.

A brief introduction was made, but Andrew wasn't thinking about the hi's and chit chat. All he kept thinking was this girl was wearing boots that actually had manure on them. She kept talking about showing cattle at the New York State Fair that weekend, and how she just competed at Junior Nationals. She sure was chatty, but her hair bounced, and she had this laugh that was contagious. He wanted to hold her hand, but she seemed timid, like a deer that doesn't know to run or to stare some more.

BOTH:

That night, they talked about cows, farming, living so far away from school, their wants for their life, and why they came to SUNY Cobleskill. That night was the night that I knew I was had found a really special guy. I still remember the look he gave me when I left, and said, "I'll catch up with you tomorrow." I remember the videos online that we used to watch about tractor pulling and planting those first few weeks. But most of all, I remember thinking to myself how lucky I was that he picked me.

Meeting Kim that first day, it makes me laugh. We have come so far since those days. My hair hasn't changed, I don't have glasses anymore, but we still have so much to talk about. And we laugh and laugh together. Who knew that outside Prentice I would be meeting the love of my life?