We met outside a party during our first year at University of the Pacific, which was over 100 miles away from home. Funny enough, we discovered that we had both grown up only 12 miles apart from each other. Rebecca had just heard Alec mention that he had transferred from a junior college, so she decided to ask him about which one. The conversation went a little like this: Rebecca: "Which junior college did you transfer from?" Alec: "Oh, you probably wouldn't know." Rebecca: "Try me!" Alec: "Santa Rosa Junior College." Rebecca: "Shut up! Both of my brothers went there. I grew up in Cotati!" Alec: "Oh my gosh, no way! What a small world." And so the story goes... From then on, we became great friends and bonded over the fact that we were both from Sonoma County.

Our journey from friendship to romance holds a special place in our hearts, a story we often look back on and laugh about. What began as a strong and genuine friendship between us gradually evolved into something deeper. The heartwarming moments of Alec's basketball games played a pivotal role, with Rebecca and her spirited teammates cheering on Alec and the rest of the UOP basketball team from the stands. You could often catch Rebecca holding up Alec's cardboard fathead. After Alec's senior basketball season, a new chapter emerged. He would go over to Rebecca's apartment to watch the Warriors games – a team they were both huge fans of. He would also frequently leave the room because he was so frustrated with how they were playing (some things never change). Then, at the Giants vs. Padres game on April 26, 2016, our relationship officially transformed. Alec claimed he was only a Giants fan for the night, but little did he know he would spend the rest of his life attending Giants games with Rebecca.

For the initial four years of our relationship, we navigated the challenges of long-distance with unwavering commitment to each other. Our love spanned continents, bridging the gap from California to Spain, then to Israel, and later to Fayetteville, Arkansas. Despite the miles that separated us, our bond grew only stronger. Countless hours were spent on FaceTime calls, writing heartfelt love letters, and traveling on plane rides. Trust became the cornerstone of our relationship as we weathered the uncertainties of time zones and separation. The saying 'distance makes the heart grow fonder' couldn't have been truer for us. Finally, in September 2020, we put the distance behind us and moved into our first place we could call home: Menlo Park, CA.

For anyone who knows Rebecca, they understand that she can be very intuitive, so proposing to her was not an easy task. I (Alec) sought help from one of my closest friends, Woody Templeton, who pretended to ask me on speaker phone if Rebecca and I wanted to go wine tasting at Domaine Carneros in Napa with his girlfriend Kylie. I acted like I was all for it, and so did Rebecca until we ended the call with Woody. As soon as the call was over, Rebecca asked me about the tasting fee, and upon hearing it was over $50, she began texting Woody with various suggestions of her wine clubs to secure a "complimentary" tasting. My plan was going down the drain! I had to think quickly and came up with a backup plan: I had Woody pretend that Kylie's parents (whom Rebecca didn't know) would be covering the cost as a Christmas gift, so Rebecca wouldn't worry about the price. When I shared this with Rebecca, she was all in and even exclaimed, 'Wow, that is so nice! If it's free, it's me!' Haha. Now, onto the proposal part... It was a perfect December day in Napa. After we finished our wine tasting, we were strolling down the Domaine Carneros steps to take pictures, and that's when I got down on one knee and proposed... she said YES! After the proposal, we got to celebrate with family and friends, and the overwhelming joy was simply indescribable.