We're Getting Married!

For my first two weeks at Tufts, I inadvertently ate every meal with a different group. As one amongst hordes of freshmen regularly descending on Dewick-MacPhie dining hall, I never struggled to find at least one familiar face (a new classmate, a remembered acquaintance, an extra-curricular co-conspirator) with whom I could steal a seat. Through this practice, I had the good fortune to end up at a table with Hannah, who immediately was the most interesting person I had met up to that point. At the time, she was learning elvish, and I was enraptured. After hours of conversation, I think we both knew we had met somebody special; after a few more months we each realized the other felt the same.

I entered college without any interest in dating and with the expectation that I'd remain single through graduation. Then, one day in the very busy Dewick dining hall, a boy who recognized my roommate from prospective student days (and me from class as I found out later) joined us at our table. We started talking about computer science and about other nerdy things like Lord of the Rings. Before I knew it, it was at least an hour after I meant to get back to my dorm to do homework, but I didn't want to leave. We continued meeting up at meals over the course of a month or so, then eventually he asked if I wanted to go see a movie or something that weekend. I was really hoping it was intended to be a date. And it was!

Suddenly, we were two computer science majors in a curriculum that prioritized duo work: pair programming, study buddying, and tech supporting each other through five credits of core curriculum classwork. In Tufts's notorious Comp40, we found that not only did we like each other, we liked working together. In this coding crucible, we forged our most critical bond: it is always Us against The Problem. By the time we finished freshman year, we were ready to face our six (or five!) remaining semesters with the same spirit. Now, four years of cohabitation, two adopted cats, and one global pandemic have forged us into a family, and we are so excited to celebrate our family with you.

One dark and stormy night, as clouds of thunder and torrents of rain settled upon Waltham (much to the chagrin of Hannah's ENT tract), we were seated by a window watching the lightning over the pond. While Hannah had a faint inkling that a proposal might be on the horizon–she had come across some unsubtle packaging a week or so prior while bringing in the mail–she did not know that Arthur had been racking his brains for the perfect proposal. Getting the proposal right was a crucial milestone, and no elaborate viral-video-inspired stunt seemed correct for the occasion. However, as a fortuitous storm whipped past the windows, this quiet moment of awe in the face of nature was all the elaboration that was needed. From there, it all happened at once. Arthur produced the ring, and Hannah glossed over it completely as she leapt into his arms.