They say the butterfly effect is when one small, seemingly ordinary choice sets off a chain of events that changes everything. Our story is the definition of that. One decision, one introduction, one birthday party that changed the entire course of our lives.

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I went to South Dakota State University, where I made some of my closest friends, including Mykin Severson. After graduating in 2020, life took us in different directions. I moved back home to Prior Lake, Minnesota, while Mykin started a job in Des Moines, Iowa.

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In 2021 for her birthday that year, Mykin wanted to gather friends both old and new. She rented an Airbnb in Des Moines, and I drove down from Minnesota to celebrate. What I didn’t know was that fate or God himself was already setting the stage.

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One of Mykin’s coworkers, Michael Blank, invited his new friend Mason, who had recently moved to Ankeny from Denver during Covid. Mason will tell you that as he walked up to the Airbnb and saw me through the window, he instantly knew he wanted to talk to me. At that very same moment inside, one of the girls nudged me and said, “You should definitely talk to that guy tonight,” pointing straight at Mason. And just like that, the butterfly effect was in motion.

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The night unfolded like magic! Easy conversation, endless laughter, and a first kiss that felt like the stars themselves had aligned. I never told anyone, but deep down I knew in that moment that I was going to marry him. Months later, when Mason and I were officially dating, he admitted he had felt the same way that night too.

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Looking back, it feels like the universe conspired to place us in that room at that exact time. One small choice led us here, to a forever that began with a birthday party, a chance meeting, and the kind of love that only the butterfly effect could create.