On Wednesday, September 26th, 2018, I attended Muay Thai class at work and noticed a handsome man in class. After the class was over, Blake approached me, which I was happy about because I knew he was my type. He pointed out my Syracuse shirt and jokingly mentioned how Clemson typically wins against Syracuse in football. It was at that moment I noticed his smile. We had lunch the following week and from there we started hanging out after work and going grocery shopping on the weekends. As time went on, I started to like him and would find myself missing him on days we didn’t hangout. After a few months of friendship, Blake asked me to be his girlfriend and I happily said yes. Having met Blake 6 years ago, it feels like we’ve grown up together and had so many fun life experiences. From us traveling to new countries, trying new restaurants, building furniture, going to concerts, hiking and ultimately living life together. He made the Bay Area feel like home for me and now we’re thriving in Los Angeles. I’m grateful we get to experience life together and I’m excited to be the future Mrs.Thrower.

In September 2018, I was attending my regular twice a week martial arts class at work, when I noticed a very beautiful woman in the fight studio that I had never seen before. I didn’t want to be too pushy, so I finished the class as usual, but made sure to introduce myself at the end of the hour. She was wearing a Syracuse t-shirt, so I flashed a smile and broke the ice with a joke about ACC football, which she laughed at, thankfully. I mentioned that we should stay in touch, since Google is a big place, and I’d already managed to go half a year working there without ever seeing her, so no telling if I would again. Over the next 4 months, Candace and I developed a friendship that blossomed into romance, and in January 2019, I officially asked her to be my girlfriend. Some of my favorite dates with Candace are our first one (to a movie premiere), our first trip to Los Angeles together (seeing my/(our?) first ever Lakers game), and our first formal event together (when she invited me as her plus one to a holiday party). I knew then that we looked too good together to not be together. Our relationship has been a wonderful growth journey for both of us and I can’t wait to continue to accomplish life with her in marriage.