After talking for a few weeks, I knew I wanted to meet Erum. I built up the courage to ask if I could see her. The sentences were a blur; I tried to sound cool but it came off as a disaster. Luckily, she liked me enough to agree. At the time, I lived in Ohio, so I flew down to meet her. After checking in to my hotel, we met for the first time at a fountain by Legacy Park in Plano, TX. We sat and talked, and it was easy. It was comfortable. Obviously I was nervous, but I felt like I had known her forever. The next day I told her I planned a day to show her the city. Erum's a social butterfly, so she's seen most of Dallas already, so I had my work cut out for me. From our talks, I knew she always wanted to see The Lion King musical. As fate should have it, the production was in Dallas that weekend. The drive to the theater, she could tell that was the plan, based on my facial gestures as we past by a sign promoting the show. She has always been able to read my emotions since the beginning. We enjoyed the show together and got ice cream afterward. I flew back the next day, and we immediately planned our second date.

Months after talking, I agreed to let Hussein come visit me in Dallas. It was the night of my brothers graduation party, but all I could think about was Hussein. We first met at the fountain at Legacy West and I was decked out in Paki clothes (it was super filmy)! We ended up chatting till 2am, the time flew by. The next morning Hussein picked up my favorite coffee and told me he planned the day for us. I was shocked, it was my city, but he took the initiative to plan the entire day. We pulled up to Fair Park and I immediately felt my heart sink-- he bought us tickets to watch my favorite Disney movie on broadway, The Lion King. We took a trolley tour around Dallas, enjoyed ice cream, and went for a romantic dinner and walk around the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. We ended the night in Deep Ellum.. and before I knew it, I was already head over heels for Hussein. There was never a dull moment, in that moment I realized I had met my best friend above all. As soon as he left, I felt an empty void and already started counting down the days till I'd see him again! I'm still in disbelief that this is my destiny and that I'm lucky enough to spend forever with a man like Hussein.

The concept for the proposal was two parts; one to recreate moments in our relationship that were unique to us and; to incorporate an integral part of both of our lives; family and friends. Saturday morning, Erum texted me. I didn't reply. She wanted to know what time my family would be ready to start exploring Dallas. Little did she know they were all getting prepared for the proposal. Shortly after her texts, her friend Seher knocked on her door. She opens it to see Seher holding a box and a letter. The letter; an invitation to her proposal. She gets dressed before she receives the second letter from her brother Momo, who then escorts her to the car to take her to the first stop. The car stops at The Shops at Legacy, right by the fountain that we first met. At the fountain were her friends, ready to embrace her. After receiving a letter and a few moments with her friends, she is quickly escorted back to the car to her next stop. The car then heads to Fair Park, the spot of our first date. She pulls up and sees my parents, my brothers, with smiles, a letter and happy tears. She is then whisked away to Irving. Erum has a great love for Southern Italy, so I thought I would do my best to bring Italy to her. The car pulls up the docks where she meets her parents, Anum, Mutaaf, Isa and Mikael. They walk her to me, waiting by the docks, ready to take her on a gondola ride along the river. On the gondola, Erum and I shared some laughs and tears, and then when we were in a secluded place along the river, I proposed. Crazy thing is I planned the whole day, but I never planned what to say in that moment. I winged it. Spoke from the heart. It will be a moment that she and I will share. After she said yes, we turned the corner on the river to see all our family and friends from the day gathered on a bridge to shower us with rose petals and cheers of joy. I planned the day in my head and wanted it to be perfect for her. In the end, it ended up being perfect for us.