We're getting married!

Even though we had crossed paths during college and had more than one mutual friend, we noticed each other on September 24, 2017, right before our 3rd year of college at UC Santa Cruz. Jemzi asked to join her friend Paola's group at a concert she had bought solo tickets for during the summer; this group consisted of friends that Paola lived with, Tony and Sammy. Jemzi already knew Sammy and Paola from working orientation and dancing in Los Mejicas but hadn't met Tony before (she thought we had been introduced at least once before). Before heading downtown to see Goldlink and Masego at the Catalyst, Jemzi walked from the Village to their apartment at Cowell College to pre-game as young college students do. Jemzi typically likes to arrive early, right when doors open, because she is a fun-sized shorty who can't see from the back of the venue and wants to enjoy all of the pre-show jitters and openers (usually because she has been studying for the concert and knows their whole set, as well). Tony is a "sometime during the opener" type of concert-goer who is extremely laid back, wants to change his outfit about three times, still hasn't put his shoes on, still has to finish doing his hair, and for some reason, needs to make his bed (let it be known that Tony does NOT make the bed ever unless Jemzi asks him to..) type of guy. Jemzi was annoyed by this dude who cared more about the difference between 2 white shirts than she ever thought was possible. Eventually, Tony was ready... much later than all of the women who curled their hair, did their makeup, and rehashed all of their summer by then. A friend named Marisa gave us a ride to the venue, and we finally arrived! (is how Jemzi felt)... the line was still out the door, and the opener still wouldn't start for about another 20 minutes, lol. While waiting in line, Tony talked about what he did over the summer; Jemzi asked the group if they had listened to the new Tyler the Creator album, and Tony had! We talked about music; he cracked some jokes about being sad and listening to the album on repeat (just like me..), and he shared he was from Tracy, and he was surprised that I knew it existed and that she had been there before. Little by little, Jemzi thought he was getting cuter and cuter... until she decided it was done: this was her new boyfriend. The following Monday, after a brutal 8 am physics class, Jemzi left the Earth and Marine Sciences building and noticed a distinct curly-haired boy leaving, too. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized they had a class together, which meant they could study (aka buy Chegg, their first split purchase) together! At the following Friday's Bienvenida event, Tony hugged Jemzi (faint) before her performance. Her best friend, Rachel, convinced her to send a message asking Tony to join her at another concert she had got a ticket for; this time, Rachel was planning on attending but couldn't attend anymore because of her RA schedule. Tony responded with a yes quickly; for Tony, even a response was a good indicator that he was interested, unbeknownst to Jemzi, even though he insisted that Rachel never had a ticket in the first place (I swear she did!). They went to the concert (Snow Tha Product!) and realized they had a lot more in common ("connection!") when they grabbed a slice at Pizza My Heart. The rest of the Fall quarter flew by, and they spent it getting to know each other better through countless study sessions, parties, and dates at the dining hall or attending concerts (Daniel Ceasar was magical <3). Right before finals week, while Tony was doing an all-nighter to finish an essay, Jemzi stayed up with him until 4 am on Tuesday, December 4, 2017, when he asked her if she would be his girlfriend :) Two weeks later, he would tell a very drunk and newly 21-year-old Jemzi that he loved her while taking care of her. And just like that, nearly seven years later, Tony is her fiancé <3