I was studying abroad at University of the Sunshine Coast in 2005, and met Adam, an Aussie born and raised in Mooloolaba, during my last three weeks in Australia. After meeting, he took me on surf adventures and we had fun in the sun, then left it at MAYBE when I boarded the plane back to Charleston to finish my degree. 

After returning from study abroad, I finished an internship at Teen People in NYC, sure I'd take a job there post-graduation. The magazine folded, though, so not knowing what to do, I booked a ticket back to Australia to hang out with Adam. On New Years Day 2007, I found myself once again on Aussie soil.

PHOTO: IVETTE IVENS

We moved in together from day one, not even an official couple, but figured we'd see how things went. Adam owned accommodation for travelers at the time, conducting surf tours and shooting in the ocean. I did anything I could to survive, from picking strawberries to pouring lattes. Not long after purchasing a home together, we decided we needed to chase one more adventure before settling down. We sold everything but our 4WD, and embarked on a 3 month journey across Australia with our golden retriever in tow.

When Adam's green card was approved, we had three months to pick up and move. We had plans to return to Charleston where I'd gone to school but just weeks before departing Australia saw a photo of a girl in a pink bikini swimming underwater on Oahu. It caught Adam's eye. The rest is history.

It was a quiz on the internet that led us here, and in 2014 we landed in Kahului with four suitcases, our golden retriever Marley, and no $*%&ing clue what we were doing. Within months, we found our stride as photographers, and that year embarked on our full-time, dream career as full time photographers on Maui.

My first surf lesson with Adam