We're getting married!

We like to say our story began in the least romantic place possible: the gym. At the time, I was a pharmacy student just trying to survive school and get a decent workout in between studying. He was a PhD student, deep in the chaos of research and writing his dissertation. Neither of us expected to meet the person we’d spend our lives with somewhere between the treadmills and the weight rack. One day, I decided to do something bold (or maybe slightly awkward, depending on who you ask). I walked right up to him and asked the most direct question imaginable: “What do you do?” Luckily for me, he had a pretty good answer. Somewhere in his explanation about being a PhD student and his research, I remember thinking, *Okay… this guy is interesting.* Apparently he thought the same about the pharmacy student who randomly interrogated him mid-workout, because before long we started talking more… and then going on dates… and then suddenly we were very much *a thing.* Looking back, it makes sense that we clicked. I grew up playing soccer, he grew up playing baseball, so we both understand competition, teamwork, and the importance of a good post-game snack. That athletic mindset probably helped us through some of the biggest challenges we faced together, like surviving pharmacy school and finishing a dissertation. Through late nights of studying, stressful exams, and the endless chaos of pharmacy school, he was always there cheering me on. And when it came time for him to power through the final stretch of his dissertation and step into his career as a professor, I was right there supporting him too (and reminding him occasionally to take a break and sleep). Somewhere along the way between gym conversations, research deadlines, and pharmacy exams, we realized we were building a life together. We also realized that life might involve a little geography. He’s originally from Virginia, I’m from Florida, we met in Tennessee, and now we’re planning our next adventure together, moving to Massachusetts. Safe to say our future will probably involve a lot of road trips and explaining our accents. What started with a simple “What do you do?” at the gym turned into years of supporting each other’s dreams, celebrating milestones, and planning a future side by side. FIN