It was the summer of 2010, and I sat in Histology class at the Columbia Med Prep program. The other focused pupils sat with their eyes glued to the PowerPoint presentation listening intently to the professor. Suddenly, I heard the loudest belly laugh coming from the hallway. I had to figure out who disrupted the class, whose laugh was that loud, and what was so funny. I saw a friend from the program standing with an attractive and happy man. Luckily class ended, giving me time to inquire about the man behind the laugh. The man in question was gone, but my friend was still in the hallway. I asked her who her loud buddy was, and she told me his name was "Moe". I could tell that her wheels were spinning. She asked me if I was interested in him, and if I wanted her to hook us up. I shrugged and said, “No, that’s okay, I was just asking”; trying to downplay my interest and not seem too thirsty, but I knew she was excited and would put the good word in. Weeks went by and I unfortunately did not see or hear from Moe again. By the last day of the internship, I thought all was lost until I saw the happy man, bouncing down the hallway with an oversized Polo and a pair of XXL jean shorts (that was in style back then unfortunately). Before he even introduced himself, he made a comment about my pink dress as if we had been friends for years. I thought, “took you long enough to find me” but of course I had to play it off like I didn’t know who he was. He introduced himself, and we spent the next few hours talking, laughing, and dancing at the mixer as if we knew one another for years. My friends from the program were puzzled as to who this mystery man was. After that night, my Med Prep girlfriends added Moe on Facebook, so safe to say he made a good first impression on them. We went to lunch and to see the movie "Inception" after the last day of the program but went our separate ways. He went back to school in St. Louis, and I went back to Atlanta. (I recently found out that we both already saw Inception in the movie theatre, but just wanted an excuse to hang out longer). For nearly ten years, Moe and I kept in touch during different parts of our life, either catching up, congratulating each other on graduating from college, or wishing each other well in graduate school and medical school. Talking to Moe was always a breath of fresh air. He was always so kind to me and had a positive outlook on everything, which I really admired. Every conversation, whether long or short, I would always end up either laughing out loud or smiling.

2020 was a transformative year for me personally, as I tried to adjust to the “new normal”. I was working from home initially with limited responsibilities since the pandemic caused New York to shut down. I was concerned about the health of my family and friends, and since I worked in NYC’s Public Health Department, I received daily reports on how people all over the world were impacted by Covid, which was heart breaking and eye opening. For the first time in my twenties, after working and studying nonstop, I had the opportunity to prioritize my health and well-being, think and reflect on what made me happy, what I felt was missing, and how I could improve as a person. In the spring of 2020, when Covid was at its height in LA, I reached out to Moe to make sure he was okay, since he was training as a resident surgeon at USC. He assured me he was doing okay and appreciated me for thinking of him. A few months later, he texted me “Sup” which I wasn’t too thrilled about because what does that even mean, and I told him something like “please use your words”. Lucky for him though, I was going to L.A. to visit my sister who was a law student at USC and was living a few minutes from Moe. She convinced me to see him in person to redeem himself after the “Sup” message. I was so nervous to see Moe in person. I paced around my sister’s apartment in disbelief that I was going to see him after so long. The first thing he said to me was, “well you look the same.” I was unsure if this was a compliment or not, but I nodded and said you do too. Midway into the conversation I realized that Moe was going to be trouble, I knew I could easily fall for him, so I fled the scene. I told him Danielle was making me a turkey burger and I couldn’t miss out, so I went back to her apartment to gather myself. Moe’s consistent kindness and friendship through a time that felt uncertain stood out to me the most. I thank God for reconnecting us during that time. Friendship and admiration turned quickly into love. I fell in love with his selflessness, passion and dedication to his work, and his intentional nature to always make time to check in no matter what. Moe called me in the morning on his way to work and in the evening when he was done with his day no matter how stressful his day was. Trying to navigate the three-hour time difference between N.Y. and L.A. often made communicating difficult. I found myself on red eye flights to L.A. any time I had the opportunity to do so. Our time in L.A. gave us the opportunity to try out new restaurants and take advantage of the year-round nice weather by visiting beaches and parks. It even resulted in us becoming dog parents to a Chorkie named Wizkid Cali Idowu. On June 6th, 2023, Moe asked me to marry him in the most beautiful way in between the Piton Mountains in St. Lucia. After Moe’s ten-minute speech and 100 tears later, I said YESSS and cried some more! While I couldn’t hold in my emotions, Moe was so calm, sure, and confident. June 6th is also the anniversary of the day my maternal grandmother passed away, and I know she was dancing in heaven when he asked. I felt then, and even more so now, incredibly lucky to be marrying someone that was made just for me. Spending my life with Moe by my side is a dream come true, and I feel that we found each other again at the most perfect time. My hope is that I continue to fill his life with endless joy and belly laughs for many years to come.

Our story began in the summer of 2010 right after freshman year of college. I spent the whole summer living in Washington Heights at the Summer Medical and Dental Education Program at Columbia. Some of our classes were combined or split with a similar program entitled Med Prep. Towards the end of the program, one of my friends mentioned that her friend from Spelman, Danah, who was in the Med Prep program might be interested in me. We didn’t get to spend much time with the Med Prep students as they didn’t live in the dorms with us therefore I never met Danah. I wasn’t very outgoing back then (or now for that matter) so I didn’t approach Danah because I figured Jessica was just trying to make a connection that wasn’t actually there. I assumed nothing would ever come of Jessica’s little hint until the last night of the program when there was a party thrown in the dorms to celebrate the programs completion. As I sat in one of the dorms making small talk, I noticed a girl wearing a dress that undeniably caught my eye. I couldn’t initially see who she was but as she walked towards where I was sitting, I realized it was Danah, a vision in a bright pink dress ! I had to talk to her so I made a comment about her dress that I felt (and still feel) was complimentary. She may tell you otherwise. Either way, she was open to the convo and sat next to me. We talked the rest of the night both ignoring the friends that we had come with. Eventually, the party transitioned to a more festive affair. The only other thing I will say about that night is that Danah has skills on the dance floor and I could barely keep up with her. After the program ended, we met up to get lunch and I can admit I was pretty nervous because I thought outside of the setting of that party, she might realize she wasn’t as interested as she thought. We sat down for lunch and we talked as if we had known each other forever. We even extended the rendezvous to go see a movie after. I felt that this could be the start of something special but when the school year started we both went back to our own lives. We always kept in touch over the years though, whether it was me telling her how I got into medical school or her sending me a picture while studying for her masters degree.

We didn’t see each other again until 2020 when Danah checked on me amidst the pandemic. It was a tumultuous time in all our lives, but while many were sheltered at home, I continued to work at the hospital, seeing patients in the emergency room. Danah’s genuine concern for my safety was touching and comforting in a way I had not expected. When she told me she was coming to LA to see her twin sister, I jumped at the chance to reconnect. Once we met up, the first words out of my mouth was that she looked the same as she had ten years ago. This was another moment she may have misinterpreted, but I meant it in the best way possible. After a few awkward comments on my part, we sat on the roof in the LA sun talking like old friends. I watched her smile as I made silly jokes and couldn't help but think that there was a reason we kept in touch all this time. Eventually Danah had to go back to her sister’s place for dinner. I honestly thought I may have scared her away but to my surprise, we talked nonstop over the next few weeks. After that, we began a long distance relationship during the pandemic with Danah traveling between NYC and LA to make our relationship work. Despite many obstacles, our relationship thrived. I found out many things about Danah during our courtship. I learned of her love for food, especially fancy restaurants (although this may be my own doing because I took her to Perch in downtown LA on our first date). I also learned of her love for animals which manifested itself in our dog Wizkid. I found out she loves a fit which was evident in the many packages that would show up at my apartment in LA whenever she was there. More importantly, I learned that she loved with her whole heart and I saw this on a daily basis with how she encouraged me through tough times in residency, celebrated my birthday and my accomplishments as if I was the King of England, and how she always sent me sermons/quotes/instagram reels on how we could continually strengthen our relationship. By the time 2023 rolled around, I had been in love for a while. By the spring of 2023, we had informally looked at rings a few times and to Danah’s frustration, she felt that there was no hint of a proposal. For my last vacation of residency, we planned a 10 day trip to St. Lucia and this would obviously be an amazing setting for a proposal. I was almost certain Danah knew this. Therefore, I planned the proposal on one of the last days of our trip and even had a decoy beach dinner earlier in the trip to throw her off the trail. I also knew that June 6th was the anniversary of her grandmothers passing and would have significance for her. On June 6th, I told her I had reserved another beachside dinner for us. The hotel transportation picked us up and started taking us to a landing that was far from the beach. I could tell Danah was confused but I told her not to worry. When we arrived at the engagement site, " This is Why I Love You" was playing and Danah couldn't help but smile. I proposed to her at sunset between the two Pitons. As I looked at her I couldn’t help but think of that same glow on her face as we sat in the LA sun in 2020. I feel truly blessed to be marrying Danah. She is the epitome of that quote that says, "true love is your souls recognition of its counterpoint in another". I can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives together and I have a feeling that on our wedding day she may outdo the dress that caught my eye all those years ago.