Freshman year at Northeastern University, we separately headed to our first business class. After Business, we both made our way to Intro to Science. It was hard to ignore the only other person doing the same commute, so we said hello. We realized we lived in the same dorm, and that intro class was going to be far too easy. We fell into a fun routine between dorm, class, Dunkins, class, Family Feud, lunch. Turns out we were at the same Freshman Orientation weekend, and knew some of the same people. The friend groups merged, and our Northeastern crew was made. We ended up liking the same classes, so our major of MIS & Finance was finalized. This made it easy for JR to benefit from Olga's extensive schedule analysis, and Olga to learn from JR's test taking skills. Shared schedules and endless study sessions were naturally followed by parties with all of our friends, and JR so kindly sharing his massive stash of Ramen when Olga wanted a late night snack. JR first left an impression on Olga's parents, when she was cleaning out her freshman year dorm. Olga didn't have any cleaning supplies, which is of course very surprising for everyone who knows Olga. When Maria was appalled and unsure of what to do next, Olga texted JR to hopefully be saved. JR came up with his solution, a homemade “broom” of sorts. He had taped a brush to a stick to clean his room, and let Olga borrow it to clean hers. From that moment on, Maria would always refer to him as the boy with the broom, and she was fascinated by his creative solution. If you know Gabe, clearly Maria has a soft spot for that kind of skill.

A million years later, Olga graduated, JR returned from Co-op in New Jersey, and everything seemed different. We tried to ignore it. We were too good of friends and it was too much to risk. At Countryfest, we finally acknowledged it was weird. We described it that way exactly, weird. Turns out, our friendship had become something more, and we weren't exactly sure what to do about that. At first we thought none of our friends noticed, but we later learned that we are not very good at hiding things. Seven years later, two apartments, parents to handsome Kane, JR decided it was time. After a trip to visit Julie, we decided to have a night in and decorate the Christmas tree. Gabbi and Ryan were finally planning to go to the brewery near our apartment, so of course Olga extended an invite for them to come over first. After we put our last ornament on the tree, JR said he had one more for us to put on. He pulled out a gold circular ornament from a box, and gave it to Olga to hang. As she put it on the tree, he told her that it opens. Inside was a wooden heart, engraved with "Olga, will you marry me". In actual shock, Olga looked for JR, who was now on one knee holding a diamond ring. She said yes, and then proceeded to not say any other words, for a very long time. After many tears, laughs, champagne toasts, Facetime calls, and a visit from Brad, it finally sunk in, We're Engaged!