In August of 2022 I met Maria Mira. A beautiful, charismatic and kind young lady from Medellin, Colombia studying Communications and living in the East Side of town. We decided to meet for dinner at a restaurant in the Ohio City in Cleveland, on what would have seemed like the most ordinary day one could imagine but that night my life changed more than it had in the 24 years prior. My good friend Keith, who lived in Youngstown at the time, stayed over at my apartment the night before on my WalMart futon in the blind and curtainless living room. I walked out of my room and talked to him for a while, telling him about the date that I was yet to have, a date that would shortly change everything about my life. I was nervous and I certainly let him know that. He told me there was nothing to worry about, and to show up and be myself. I wore a red polo, with a tear in that little bottom thing that makes a triangle but I don’t think she noticed. At dinner that night we talked about a myriad of subjects, what we do, what we want to do, the different worlds we come from, why either of us are where we are, what we want to accomplish throughout our lives; and over an extremely average Bahn Mi i found the person i want to spend the rest of my life with. I showed up a couple of minutes early or maybe she showed up a couple of minutes late, but during those moments I had no clue what I would get myself into. Flash forward a few months, my good friend, Joe, had taken a new job in Cincinnati and was leaving Cleveland. We talked and decided we would meet for dinner, and he would meet at my apartment. At the time, I had completely forgotten that I had a dinner planned with Maria, that very same night. With regret, I called Maria and explained I had to cancel and I know she was not thrilled about that, but she asked if she could drop something off when I got home. Perplexed, I said sure but had no clue what it may be. Later that night, I had a new set of bowls. I didn’t think of it at the time, but two weeks before I had invited Maria over and we had enjoyed Pho together, and I had to reveal to her I did not own a single real bowl (we ate with paper bowls). A few months later, Maria and I had been spending a lot of time together. At Guardians and Cavs games, at most restaurants one could name in Cleveland, and seeing every beautiful thing Cleveland has to offer together. I decided I wanted to move from my loud but, uniquely beautiful apartment on 25th Street in the Ohio City neighborhood. I thought deeply about how my life was changing, I had moved to a new city, had new roles within a new company, and found someone that I loved spending every second of my life with. I was emotional looking back on all of this, how my life had changed so much in just year, and thought to myself that I could now really create my own story with the person I love. Flash forward nearly another two years, Maria and I had been spending nearly every day together. Maria had graduated from collage and I was still doing the same job living in the same city. Things were great but normal. I would finish work and go home to the love of my life, but I understood it could not just stop there. The women I loved couldn’t just be the women I loved and imagined I would spend the rest of my life with, she would have to be the women I loved and would have to become my wife who I would spend the rest of my life with. I asked her then, in August of last year, to become my wife and she said yes. Now, Maria and I have purchased a home in Cleveland where we live without any sirens, happily enjoy homemade bulgogi and steaks, weekly Bengals games and all the joys that love and togetherness bring a couple. We are so excited to spend April 25th with all of you to gather in a ceremony to show our love of each other, and one that shares our appreciation of what every single one of you has done to shape our lives and bring us together. With love, Matthew and Maria.