We're getting married!

AJ and Matt met at their beloved alma mater, Indiana University, in early March 2020—two weeks before the COVID-19 Pandemic took off. When they met, they realized they had taken a class together the semester before: “The Bomb in American Life,” a history of the atomic bomb and the nuclear age. AJ sat at the very front of the lecture hall, and Matt sat in the very back. He remembers seeing the back of AJ’s curly hair and her hand always raised to participate. Matt, however, spoke one time in class. Yet, that one time was when AJ and Matt were the only students to share about the World War II veterans in their families. Even though they never interacted, and AJ never saw Matt, they both remembered each other’s stories that day. Learning that they actually knew of each other and shared a favorite class was the perfect icebreaker. They continued to hang out for two weeks, bonding over their shared love of history and that they both moved to different states when they were younger. Matt moved from Detroit, Michigan, to Chicago, Illinois, when he was 12. AJ moved from Huntsville, Alabama to Covington, Indiana, when she was 15. One day, Matt asked AJ out on a formal date to see the movie The Way Back (2020). AJ said, “ No, I have to study for midterms.” In her defense, she was about to celebrate turning 21—but not until she finished her exams. They didn’t know that 2 days after her birthday, students would be sent home for the rest of the year. AJ and Matt became close friends as they processed the global crisis together and filled their time in quarantine with constant conversation through texts, phone calls, and Zoom movie nights. Their friendship caught fire. On May 31, 2020, Matt was the first to confess, “I love you.” It went better than when he first asked her on a date–AJ felt the same way! Still, they had some important questions. When were they going to see each other again? How would it work with Matt now graduated from college and AJ with a year left? Would the pandemic even be over yet? What about her plans for after graduation? Did Matt expect her to follow him? Would he be willing to follow her to whatever graduate school she went to? Are they crazy for this? To the first question, they didn’t know. To the last question, yes, they were a little crazy. But they promised to wait for each other. Most importantly, Matt promised AJ that wherever she went, he went too. With these assurances, they officially became a couple on August 4th, 2020. They waited more than a year for a vaccine to become available so they could safely and finally meet again. On AJ’s graduation weekend in May 2021, for which IU invited back 2020 graduates like Matt to participate in, they reunited! Of course, there were nerves about how 14 months of separation would affect them. The last time they had seen each other, they were barely becoming friends! Yet, it was like they had never been apart. Their virtual relationship translated to in-person automatically. The real test was waiting for them in Covington, where parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends anxiously awaited the arrival of their graduate–and her surprise boyfriend. Matt says, “It was a baptism by fire.” Two weeks later, it was AJ’s turn to be the surprise when she met Matt’s family at a Cubs game. The couple continued long-distance for 2 more years as AJ moved to New Jersey to pursue her History Ph.D at Rutgers University, and Matt worked on finding a tech job that would allow him to move. They traveled thousands of miles via “planes, trains, and automobiles" to reunite whenever and wherever they could in Chicago, New Jersey, Indiana, New York, South Carolina, Michigan, and Massachusetts. In September 2023, Matt came through on his promise to go where she goes. He became a software engineer and moved. They built a home together, blending cultures, languages, and sports paraphernalia with crochet decor. On December 15th, 2024, Matt proposed, and AJ—obviously—said yes!