I’m getting married on Friday. I want to gush with emotion and anticipation, but there’s a serenity that’s come over me in the past few months that is unlike anything else. I just know what I need to do. I still share the lovely feelings for Candyce, but those feelings are now strengthened by a sense of duty and confidence. It’s a startling adventure to become a new man.

So how does it feel to know that I’m getting married in three days? The closest experience is when I knew I was a few days away from going on The Real World. I knew it was going to happen and it was going to be a big deal. I learned a lot about what I was committing to, and I tried to imagine what it would be like. I knew then, and I know now: my life is about to change. Lucky for me, a life with Candyce is a whole lot more exciting that season of reality television.

What’s beautiful about my life right now is that everything takes on a new meaning. This house that I type in will be me and Candyce’s first house together. How exciting is that? My parish isn’t just a place that I went to church in my 20s. It’s the place where I met—and got married to–the girl of my dreams. My favorite worship songs will now becomes the songs that narrate our wedding Mass.

The genuine souls who first greeted me when I moved to Arizona are going to be there to witness my lifelong vows to Candyce. Some of my buddies from Boy Scouts when I was 11 will be here when I’m 28 to be my groomsmen. My brothers and sisters are here because they unconditionally love me. That’s a feeling I cannot describe, to know that they care for me so much. I am going to make Mom and Dad proud. I am going to give them a new daughter. It’s like I’m entering a whole new realm of beauty on earth.