I remember the exact events leading up to meeting the love of my life. My friends, Jon and Ellie, convinced me to take cell biology with them – how they got me to take a class before 11 AM involved some divine intervention. While we sat down, Ellie told me about one of her friends in her sorority who was also taking the class. I remember hoping she was cute and making sure her seat was by mine. I had never had a girlfriend, so you could say times were getting desperate. So, there I was, waiting and waiting for this girl to arrive. Finally, seconds before class starts, in walks a bobbing head of curly hair, rushing down the ramp to throw all her belongings down. I remember introducing myself awkwardly and wishing the whole rest of class she would turn to talk to me about something, anything. Class ended and we said a quick goodbye, made plans for studying in the future, and my scheming to date her began. As the semester went on, we became good friends and my crush on Juliana grew. She was the leader of countless organizations, seemed to be friends with everyone on campus, and still found time to be a straight A student with social plans every day of the week. She inspired me to be a better person – because of her, I got more involved in extracurriculars, worked harder in school, and became a leader in my own right. We spent more and more time studying together, sharing meals in our favorite dining hall, and creating new running routes all around Oxford. Occasionally I was even lucky enough to be her date to her sorority parties! When summer finally rolled around, we made plans to meet our friends in Chicago and take a trip to Cedar Point with her cousin. And throughout all of this, SOMEHOW, Juliana had no clue I liked her, and I had no clue how to tell her. It took me until the fall to ask her out. You can ask any of my friends during that time how difficult it was to get to that point. A constant battle of will-they won’t-they provided the drama to fuel at least three seasons of any reality TV show. Finally, we planned to get ice cream and I was ready to knock her socks off. I mustered up the courage to drop the classic “Want to go on a date together sometime?” and--in classic rom-com fashion--she completely friend-zoned me with no hope for return. A painful month went by of me wondering how to get out of this platonic trap. We had become best friends and were still spending nearly every day together, so I tried to keep it together and not ruin the relationship we had. To this day, I still don’t quite know what changed her mind. She will tell you it was my persistence, but I’m not sure all this charisma and good looks didn’t have anything to do with it. In any case, some miraculous stroke of luck landed me a kiss with her on her 21st birthday, and the rest was history. We’ve since graduated from college and moved to Cincinnati. I began medical school and Juliana spent the first two years of post-grad life as a high school biology teacher in Northern Kentucky. Following in my footsteps, she applied to medical school and is now my classmate at the University of Cincinnati. It has been four and a half short years, but I feel like I have known Juliana a lifetime. I can’t picture life without her anymore. We spend every day together and somehow never get tired of each other’s company. She is the most incredible person I have ever met, truly. It would blow anyone’s minds to know the number of things she can fit into a day – medical school, teaching, coaching – she does it all. In the same conversation she can talk a million miles a minute and still care so deeply about what is going on in your life. I am so glad that we built our relationship from our friendship together. She really is my best friend and soulmate all wrapped into one, and I cannot wait to have her in my corner for the rest of my life. I love you Juliana and can’t wait for our big day! Love, Matt