Gonzaga is known for 'Zags marrying Zags'. I always laughed, never had the thought of marriage. It's so far away, but then Gianca walked into the financial aid office where I worked. Gianca was an international student and was coming to the office to fill out his I-9 for campus employment. Of course...he hadn't completed orientation and was not in the system. I called over to the international student office to speak with them. The lady on the phone asked for his name. I cringed looking at his name because I had NO CLUE how to pronounce it. So I said 'Last Name Soprano, Student ID XXXXX'. Gosh, I was so embarrassed, but can you blame me. Very few people know how to say his name on the first try (My family and friends have butchered his name hard. From Juan Carlos to Juan Claude). He later returned with the missing docs and orientation completed. We chatted a little and he learned I played soccer. I think that is the moment he fell in love with me... oh and the green dress I was wearing. He goes on an on about that moment. It was so odd because I would randomly run into him on campus. Say hi and be on our way. Then one day, I was headed to my car and I saw him at the men's soccer game. I said hi and we chatted for a few. He then goes to ask me 'Hey, want to kick a ball around sometime'. HA! In my head I am like HECK NO! I am not going to embarrass myself in front of this guy. But what did I do...I gave him my number. We would randomly chat here and there. It wasn't until he was having a get together at his apartment. We attended the women's game before and then the party was after. I, of course, was the first one there. It was such a fun experience. Later in the night, we all took off for the bars and met up with Sila, Kiara, Lauren and such at Jack & Dan's. Gianca and I had been flirting all night but it wasn't until we went to Scotty's to dance. That's when I, yes I, kissed him on the dance floor! From that night on, it was him and I. Now look at us! :)

I am sure many of you are wondering how in the world I made it out to NYC. First, not many people seem to make it out of the Tri and second, I moved all the way across the country. Many of you know Gianca got an offer with Deloitte in NYC. What an amazing opportunity! He signed the offer before we even started dating so I was aware of this the whole time but it never really registered with me. We were just enjoying our time together. As we became more serious and 2017 began and was flying by, it was time to make a decision. Gianca had asked me about NYC and my thoughts and it was always a ‘oh yea, that would be cool’. As time passed it seemed like a no brainer to go. It felt natural and right. But boy was a scared to tell my family I was moving. I was scared they would think it was a dumb idea and not be supportive, try to talk me out of it, but in reality they were happy. Once I made the conscious decision to move to NYC, I started job hunting like nobody’s business. I didn’t get a call until the beginning of August. Yikes! I was moving end of August no matter what. This company, Imagineer, flew me out to NYC, paid for my hotel and lunch. Not to mention they offered my a job I couldn’t turn down. I was treated like a queen. Not to mention my now colleagues took me out to a $250 lunch for 3 people (yea... New Yorker’s are wild).

Having a job locked in made moving so much less stressful. We each packed 3 large suitcases and took off to the airport. No apartment in sight, just an air mattress on Lauren’s floor until we found a place. We took an overnight flight to NYC and apartment hunted ALL the next day. We looked at 10+ apartments all over Midtown. We were dying from exhaustion and the dang NY heat. By the EOD, we were so over it that we said 'Pick one'. I was in love with the apartment on 51st St. We woke up super early, arrived at the mgmt office with our application and deposit in hand. Long story short, we were handed our keys and BOOM...our first apartment together. NYC has been an adventure. So much exploring, good food and great friends. We play soccer together, have 1/2 price nachos and enjoy nights in watching movies and cuddling. We wouldn't change this experience for the world and being here with my PIC and best friends makes it that much more sweet.