We met at Mill Valley High School in ESL class—my freshman year and Alex’s junior year. We were paired together because we were both Ukrainian. Our first task was to build a koala bear Lego set. Alex didn’t want to follow the instructions I was giving him, and I didn’t want to listen to him, even though he was convinced he “knew what he was doing.” Despite that, we bonded after the project and became friends. Later on, I asked Alex to go to after prom with me, and to my delight, he said yes. For prom, we decided to skip the traditional dance and instead went to a Sporting KC game. Afterward, we went to after prom at Dave & Buster’s, where Alex won me a purple puppy toy—one of the sweetest and funniest memories of that night. It was at Chipotle that Alex awkwardly asked me out, which became one of our funniest and most memorable moments. We began dating on April 18, 2016, and from that moment on, we were inseparable. Over the years, we’ve traveled together to so many places—Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Florida, Chicago, and Disney World, each trip making our bond even stronger. After four years of dating, we decided to adopt three cats: Milo, Leela, and Alani. In 2022, we bought our very first home together and brought a dog named Evaan into our lives. And as a surprise—now we have another dog, Sasha! Alex and I share a deep love for our Ukrainian culture and food. We love visiting the European Market for some borscht, fish, and pierogies. On weekends, you’ll often find us taking Evaan and Sasha to the dog run, enjoying the simple joys of life together. One of our favorite memories is when we did Mamma Mia karaoke. We were living in a small apartment at the time, and I was playing a karaoke game when Alex’s favorite song—“Mamma Mia, Here I Go Again”—started playing. To my surprise, Alex grabbed the mic, started singing, and danced the entire time. I was absolutely shocked he knew all the words! Now, whenever ABBA comes on, he lights up, starts dancing, and singing along, and I can’t help but smile. In 2021, we went to Puerto Rico for Christmas, and Alex got down on one knee to propose, with a stunning beach view in the background. When we get married, we’ll officially celebrate our nine years together. Here’s to love, laughter, and our happily ever after.