We signed to the same powerlifting team (UTSA); surprisngly on the same day, but did not know of one another until the first day of practice in August 2019. According to Cj, I looked intimidating and mean to talk to. To me (Nat), Cj looked like a weird guy I never thought of dating. But, I found out he is a 49ers fan one day at practice because he pointed out the beanie I wore, I was watching the game on my phone, and asked for the score. When the Niners made it to the Super Bowl, he invited me over to his house to watch the game, but I declined the offer. Flash forward to nationals in Baton Rouge in April 2021: we hung out with the rest of the team after both of us competed. I walked in and saw Cj sitting in the corner of the room, so why not go talk to the guy? Someone started playing Selena, and Cj asked me if I knew the song. Of course, I said yes. From then on, we got to know each other a little more - where we were from in the valley, which high school we went to, and to our surprise, both of our high schools competed at the same powerlifting meets. After that week in Louisiana, we didn't really hang out a lot. Until collegiate nationals in Chicago in March 2022: we landed in Lombard and it was snowing! We were in the lobby waiting for our rooms for 6 hours. The girls I was rooming with had to go grab stuff from the Target down the road, and we invited Cj to walk with us in the snow. Throughout that trip, we all supported one another - cheering each other on. I even woke up early to go watch Cj lift ._. The night before our flight, we hung out one more time since it was my last national meet with the team, and Cj brought us leftover deep-dish pizza. After that week and our end-of-season party I didn't really hang out with Cj again. But a year later, I competed at Equipped nationals in June 2023 where I bombed out (iykyk). I was very sad, but Cj came up to talk to me about it. I felt a little better, and wished him the best during the meet because it would be his 4th national title that he would win. Two months later, Cj messaged me on Twitter, and we have been talking ever since. The downside was that we were going to be long-distance if we decided to date, so before he asked me out, we went on a couple of dates: the first date was to 54th Street for a dinner date just to catch up, learn more about one another, etc. The second date was to go see Five Nights at Freddy's, where CJ then asked me out after the movie at Round1. So, I said yes, and the story goes on. We have seen each other grow, we have seen each other fall. CJ has taught me to slow down, and I have taught him to pre-plan and catch up. What we have learned from one another is to enjoy the little things, smallest wins, and each other's company wherever we are <3