We're getting married!

The first time I met Ahyan was in our freshman year while he was campaigning for a position on Emory’s Student Government. I was hanging out with a group of friends in my dorm, when he entered with some friends. Before long, it was just him and me chatting, all campaigning forgotten. We laughed as he explained how to say his name, "Ion, like in Chemistry" - after all he was Pre-Med! I was impressed by his friendliness, his confidence, and his courage to stand for Student Government when we had just arrived at college. He was fascinated by my room décor and all my London posters. Ahyan lived across campus and his academic and social interests were quite different from mine, so I didn’t expect our paths to cross much after our initial meeting. However, we kept running into each other - at the dining hall, in a freshman health class, at the Carlos Museum on campus, and even at the same party one night, where he asked me for my Twitter handle. Turns out, that was his ploy to keep in touch without being obvious and asking for my phone number! He hoped that by sliding into my DMs, it would end well (spoiler: it did).

Between doing long distance for two years and our hectic work schedules, finding the right moment to propose to Rabia was difficult to pin down. I wanted it to be special and unexpected. An invitation to a friend’s wedding in Cape Town, South Africa in December of 2019 presented the perfect opportunity. We love to travel, so what would be better than getting engaged abroad? My biggest fear was losing the engagement ring before the special moment, but I managed to keep it safe and secret (and unknowingly to Rabia, in her care until the time was right!). I hired a local photographer and part-way through our trip, took Rabia to the scenic Sunset Rock overlooking Camps Bay Beach. She was ahead of me, taking in the view, so I got down on one knee when I knew the photographer was in place and called to her. As she turned, I could see the surprise on her face: it was an amazing moment! Not only was the entire trip to Cape Town perfect, but we have a treasured memory there that we'll remember forever.