During the first summer of the pandemic, Brent and I matched on Hinge (the dating app). Our first date consisted of sipping happy hour wine at a bar inside of a bookstore and chatting for hours, and by the end of that date I knew I had to see this man again--we simply had too much in common and saw the world in so many of the same ways. Neither of us made any secret of how strongly we felt drawn to one another or how natural it felt to spend time together, and over the next couple of weeks we went on numerous dates that included cooking chicken cacciatore at his house in Midtown with freshly picked basil, hammocking and slacklining at Shelby Farms, and meeting quite a few of his med school friends at a pool party. He asked me if I would be his girlfriend with a bouquet of yellow flowers about three weeks after meeting me, during a trip where he drove 10 hours to visit me in South Carolina at the beginning of my summer internship there, and I think I said something like, "well, of course!!" We've been inseparable ever since and have already had many adventures together including a trip to visit his parents on their boat in the Caribbean, my PT school graduation, his Step 1 and our subsequent cross-country travels, and adopting my family dog Misty who is the actual love of both our lives. I am looking forward to so many more adventures with this man--yes, getting married to him, but also the vacations, the graduations, the moves, the milestones, and the tiny everyday moments of closeness with him that give each monotonous day its own spark of enjoyment.

During my first year of medical school I had many plans for that first summer. At first, I was going to use some connections to do some research in Perth, Australia, but as progressively more countries and programs shut down I eventually landed on doing some remote research, landing me squarely in Memphis. I was on a dating app at the time, and I happened to like a photo on this cool looking girl’s profile. She then messaged me, commenting on one of the pictures on my profile—a group shot where I had photoshopped my face on top of everyone in the picture, and I really became interested when she actually kept talking to me after I made a joke about being in a group of pentuplets (named Brent, Grent, Trent, Krent, and Philip). We chatted for a little bit, and being the public health-conscious individual I am I invited her over to my place so I could cook her dinner. She graciously declined, saying that she was hanging out with some of her high school friends that day, but that she knew about this cool little bookstore that had a wine bar in it that could be a good meet-up place in a couple days time. As a brief aside, I only learned this later, but she reportedly nearly flaked on our date before she found out that one of my good buddies in medical school happened to be one of the aforementioned high school friends she was hanging out with on the day I asked her out! She asked this friend, John, “Hey, is this guy an axe murderer?” To which John replied, “Nah, it’d be cooler if he was though.” With this shining endorsement, Kianna didn’t end up canceling on me. Thanks, John! It seems almost too cheesy, but with masks, the first part of Kianna I ever saw was her eyes, and they struck me in such a way that I have not since, and do not expect to, recover. Our date went amazingly, just chatting like old friends over a glass of wine. We spent more than two hours talking before Kianna told me that she was leaving in a couple of weeks for South Carolina, where she would have a clinical internship for 6 weeks. With this in mind, in the parking lot after the date I asked her “Hey, what are you doing tomorrow?” to which she replied “I’m busy, but I’m free the next day!” This started a whirlwind romance where I couldn’t think of anything else besides spending every moment I could with this amazing girl before she left for the summer. Spending time with her was like spending time with someone I had known for my entire life and more, and I knew in my heart that this wasn’t someone I wanted to have any pretense with—I wanted her to know exactly how much I liked her, and what kind of guy I really was, rather than any kind of idealized version that I thought she might like more. The moment I think I really won her over was when I finally did get her to come over for dinner, where I made a caprese salad and asked if she could step out into the garden to pick some fresh basil for us. Eventually our two weeks were up, however, and the whirlwind seemingly was coming to an end. She was going to South Carolina for the rest of the summer, and I would just have to see her in August. Of course, I knew that was a load of bollocks, and as she was driving there I texted her, asking when a good time to visit would be. About a week and a half later I drove to South Carolina with a bouquet of Kroger dandelions in my nalgene. The first thing I asked after I stepped out of the car was if she would be my girlfriend, with the rest being a very happy history. Every step of my relationship with Kianna, every decision I have made about my commitment and love for her, has been the easiest, most obvious decision of my life. Of course I want to see you as much as possible before you go. Of course I want to drive out to visit you. Of course I want to be your boyfriend. Of course I want to meet your family. Of course I love you. Of course you’re my best friend. Of course I want you to stay with me when you graduate. Of course I want you to marry me. Of course.