It was the first week of August in 2015. In the summer, Wednesday nights are for Sips--a Center City wide happy hour in Philly. For us, it was our orientation week of medical school. We were at a bar called Marathon. It was loud and crowded. One of our new classmates introduced me to him. He thought my name was Vera which I corrected to Mira almost a hundred times over the loud music. We saw the movie Trainwreck a week later with a group of our classmates. He offered to pick me up. During our casual conversation on the way to the movie theater, he was surprised to learn that I'm Egyptian. He thought Egyptians were an ancient civilization. I told him that not only am I Egyptian, but my family is FOB [fresh off the boat]. He gave me a blank look and pointed to his key dangling from the ignition and said, "like this key fob?". It was in this moment that I realized he didn't know what he was getting himself into... I should have thought it was conspicuous that he always sat in the row behind me during all of our classes. But my oblivious self didn't think anything of it. We were walking out of class one day when he asked if I wanted to grab food and drinks one night, and we did a few nights later. We sat outside at Iron Hill Brewery and enjoyed our effortless banter and the breezy summer night. This would be the first of infinite meals and laughs we would share together. If only I knew in that moment that I was sitting across from my forever person.

After four years of analyzing every comment she had ever made about engagement rings I was confident I had designed the perfect ring. As if that wasn't difficult enough, the task of planning the perfect engagement seemed almost impossible. How could I possibly come up with an idea that captured just how special this girl had made the past four years of my life? Ideas flowed in and out of my head. Maybe a scenic spot on her old college campus or a restaurant where we had shared many significant milestones. None of them seemed to be enough. I decided to simplify things. What were the things Mira valued the most? Her family, God and, of course, her dog Maddie. When I had finally decided on my plan I shared the news with both of our families who could not have been more excited. The whole day was planned down to the minute including the proposal, pictures and celebration afterwards. So what do you think happened? It POURED -_- . The engagement was postponed much to the disappointment of my dad who had to find another purpose for the corned beef dinner he prepared. Luckily two weeks later, on a beautiful sunny afternoon in June of 2019, I brought the love of my life to the front steps of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, NJ. As our world-renowned photographer (my dad) snapped our photos, the romantic speech I had planned completely slipped my mind. My heart was racing and my stomach filled with butterflies. I stumbled over the simple words "will you marry me?" as if I hadn't rehearsed them a million times. I saw the surprise and joy sweep over her face before she uttered the magical word "yes". We celebrated that night with our families and shared the good news with many others. The memory of this special day is one that we'll never forget and one that she can be reminded of daily whenever she stops to peek through the hospital window at the Cathedral in the distance.