I met Anthony at Columbia at the beginning of my senior year and Anthony's junior year. The meeting officially took place on college steps; Unofficially, over a game of 'dizzy bat' at the Nest. I will never forget the first night we hung out after this was at our friend Charlotte's birthday celebration. Despite Anthony having early football practice in the AM, I somehow was able to convince him and his friends to come over to her party. It was then that his friends blurted out that Anthony wanted to take me to their 'Nest Formal' (a definitely not school sanctioned formal they had created where the guys dress up in suits and the dates in cocktail attire and drive around NYC in a party bus). Anthony was mortified. I was flattered. Not long after that we had our first date at V&T Pizzeria on 110th Street. Over the next few months our relationship grew over countless dorm room dance parties, Nest Formals, and our first trip together over Spring Break in Cabo San Lucas. It was then that Anthony decided he was okay with giving up some of his time 'hanging with the boys' to actually make time for a girlfriend. After I graduated, I lived in Murray Hill while Anthony continued to live on the Upper West Side finishing his senior year which may as well have been long distance. It was this year that Anthony learned how to expertly navigate the 1-2-3 train to the express cross town bus to see me on 1st Avenue and 34th Street. It truly meant a lot that he took that trek for me while in school, interning, and playing football. After Anthony graduated he moved to Murray Hill as well and we were only a short few avenues away. Fast forward five years and many incredible NYC memories together including our first apartment in the East Village and our sweet yellow lab Gino, we now are beginning a new adventure together in San Francisco. I am beyond grateful that Anthony has supported my wish to move home and I am so excited for what is in store for our future together.

Yeah, so, Erin’s story has taken some creative liberties. We did meet on the steps of Low Library at the very beginning of 2012. Erin was beginning her senior year and I was starting out my junior year. I was talking to our friend, Alex, on the mid-section of the stairs about smack dab in the middle if you’re looking left to right. Erin approached from our right if you’re sitting down facing campus. I’ll never forget her walking up to say hello wearing a red shirt and white shorts. She wasn’t saying hello to me for she didn’t know I existed at that point (later we recall that she had seen me out on Halloween the year prior dressed up as Princess Peach from Mario Kart but that’s neither here nor there). Alex introduced the two of us but truth be told I already knew who Erin was. I had spent the semester prior sitting next to Alex in our philosophy class. Her screensaver on her laptop was a scrolling banner of pictures she had saved. Clearly neither of us paid attention in class because I can probably recall every single photo on that computer, numerous of which contained Erin. I saw the photos and had a crush immediately though I never met Erin until that day on the stairs. Classic story. Guy has crush on girl he thinks he could never talk to in a million years. But that was the reality of the situation. I’d look forward to seeing those photos because it was my chance to see Erin. So, that day on the steps, obviously, being a football player and all, I dropped some bogus line like “I had to go get treatment” and hobbled away. The hobble and treatment were real but I figured my best chance to ever talk or see this beautiful girl again was to leave immediately. Our next run in was in fact at the Nest where I was working hard on my baseball swing for when the majors called (they never did). It was only for a brief minute and I wasn’t expecting her to ever step foot into our suite for she was the very attractive senior and well, we were idiots. Continued below...

Thankfully she only stayed for a few minutes and I didn’t embarrass myself all that much (who knows). Soon later, I was out at a local establishment talking politics, poetry, and world hunger solutions with some refined gentlemen over some wheat drinks. I had enough banter and set home to go solve the world’s problems albeit fairly well off into the evening. Who do I see on my walk back? Erin, of course, who convinced me to stay and talk literature. If I could ever go back in time that would be the moment I would revisit. I don’t know what we talked about or how long we chatted for but I apparently didn’t mess it up. Speeding through the next few months, I’m grateful that Erin had patience to deal with an immature boy as he found a way to manage a relationship. Erin graduated and moved to the land far away which is the East Side. Long distance is an understatement and I’ll never forget the first time I came to visit her. It took me four trains and as I got off the 6 at 33rd and Park I thought “this is less than ideal and this is going to be brutal.” The commute was brutal but it was worth every second. If you can manage a cross town relationship in Manhattan, you’re going to be just fine. The next several years in the city were the best of my life. It’s been amazing to watch the evolution of our relationship and I’m forever grateful we got to grow together in NYC. I’m confident that whatever life has in store for us will be just great as long as we have each other to make one another laugh. That’s what I look forward to every day.

I had no idea it was coming! I had just been away for a week on a work trip in Israel. I came back to our apartment straight off of an 11 or so hour flight (in sweats, no makeup on, slightly sick). I walked into the apartment and only Gino was laying on the couch wagging his tail. The whole place was immaculate which actually wasn't a surprise as Anthony tends to go on cleaning sprees. Anthony was out on our patio and called me outside. It was raining so naturally I told him to come inside. I finally gave in and went out in the rain and immediately saw he had planted a ton of new flowers and plants in our little backyard. It was beautiful. There was also a bottle of champagne and rose petals everywhere (This was still not a giveaway to me -- I just thought he planned something nice for my return!). He then began playing a song that I have always said I want to play at our wedding one day and got down on one knee to propose. I then found out it was my grandmother, Betty’s, diamond who I never had the opportunity to meet. It was the most perfect, thoughtful, and special proposal and I will never forget it. Just us two and Gino, at home ready to begin our life together.