We met unexpectedly on a warm, balmy August summer night in Toledo, OH. Our future best man, Brian Stubelt, invited me to a concert taking place in the famed Promenade Park, nestled in downtown Toledo along the banks of the Maumee River. Little did he know that he would change my life forever. There was something mysterious and alluring about Alyssa that I just couldn’t put my finger on that night. We continued talking to one another for several months as “friends”. I taught her how to successfully play euchre, introduced her to the rollercoaster of emotions that comes with being a Bengals fan, and the beauty in a cat’s love. She taught me how to do a cartwheel (badly), attempted to explain the confusing intricacies of the studio dance world, and helped to spruce up my wardrobe. But the universe had other plans for us, and I moved back to Cincinnati after having known each other for only a few short months. We continued to talk, but as the months dragged on it became clear to me that things needed to change. We decided to give long-distance a chance and entered into a period of seemingly endless alternating weekends in Toledo and Cincinnati. We grew stronger and had deeper conversations. We had our emotions tested and our bandwidth stretched. We began discussing our future with more clarity and certainty. And then, after two grueling years, we decided to take a leap of faith and landed together in Chicago. That move to Chicago has seen us truly begin to build a life together. The logical side of my brain wants to say that I knew I would propose within a few weeks of living together, but in my heart of hearts, I had known for a long time. I proposed on November 1, 2025, on the South Pond Bridge in Lincoln Park overlooking the Chicago skyline. The cool, crisp air was ever so gently whispering through the newly turned Autumn leaves. I had not been more nervous for anything in my life. I can say with the utmost confidence that I have found the one in Alyssa. She is beautiful, patient, kind, insanely creative, and uber talented. She pushes me like no person has ever pushed me. She forces me to see the world in entirely different and new ways that I could never even consider on my own. I like to imagine our two personalities and makeups fitting snuggly together like a couple of jigsaw pieces. I cannot wait to see what our future holds.