There are times in your life when you know everything has changed, and no matter what you do, you can never go back to who you were before that moment. For me, that moment happened when a former Navy Seal nicknamed ‘Cowboy’ escorted me to the dance floor at my sister’s wedding, then walked away once the song was over. See, I had a big problem. I was seventeen. He was thirty-two. And I loved him. But, I wouldn’t always be seventeen, and one day, Jesse Compton would love me. I’d make sure of it.
–Tinsley Southerland