Parul and Ryan met 14 years ago during their freshman year of high school. Prior to this meeting, Parul's friend from middle school told her about a boy from church who was also going to her high school. His name was Ryan and they should date because they were both tall and skinny. Parul brushed the comment off because it was ridiculous but she remembered Ryan's name when they ultimately did meet in the band hallway during their freshman year. She remembers thinking he was really cute and that was the beginning of their love story. Fast forward two years, Ryan and Parul are now in their junior year. Both of them have gotten taller, had their braces removed, and most importantly - they were best friends. They had most of their classes together, they texted frequently outside of school, and they hung out in the same friend circle. At this point, Parul had been so obsessively in love with this man for two years. This was no secret to any of their friends or to Ryan himself. It was probably actually quite annoying for everyone. But she didn't care. She was a sappy, romantic Taylor Swift fan and no one was going to tell her not to pine after the boy of her dreams. After much mental distress over whether or not Ryan was ever going to like her back, Parul just about gave up on this fantasy. That is until March 7, 2011 when *FINALLY* Parul got a text from Ryan that said "so do u wanna go out with me sometime?" That text turned into a 4-year relationship that was utterly perfect. However, the summer before their senior year of college, they decided to part ways. They were growing into their own people, pursing their own careers, and they were starting to dream about life after college. This was ultimately the best decision for them because they needed to know who they were without one another to know for sure that were meant to be together forever. Their relationship had to compliment their individual lives, not the other way around. After 5 long years of pursuing new careers, making new friends, and moving to new states/cities, one thing always stayed the same - they were still each other's constant. The person that always made them feel safe and like they could truly be themselves. On December 31, 2019, Parul decided that it was her turn to make a grand gesture. While her plan was very meticulously thought out, it obviously didn't go that way. However, she still managed to wear her heart on her sleeve and tell Ryan how she felt. The rest was history.