I met Ryan on my first day at WSU. I thought he was very cute, but he did not seem to notice me. Turns out, we had mostly the same schedule. We sat next to each other in class and quickly became friends. He was the person I turned to when I needed comfort or companionship. All of it was easier with him, from getting groceries to working through the uncertainties of being 19. At my 20th birthday party, I found out that for the first time since we had known each other we were both single. I remembered how I felt about him when we first met, but we both had some growing to do. Many months later, we were hanging around our deserted college campus over the summer. I knew we were something more, but I was terrified of losing my best friend. He finally made me answer the question "what are we?". Three days later, I met his entire family. College flew by after that. I knew I was moving across the country to grad school. Without hesitation, he agreed to come with me. We set out in his 1995 Grand Jeep Cherokee to try the real world together. Grad school, taxes, getting a job, everything was easier because he was by my side. We tackled the volatility and excitement of our 20s together. After 10 years of friendship and 8 years of love, he asked me to marry him. Unlike the first time, I wasn't scared. I knew I would have my best friend for life.

I met Mia on my first day at WSU at a new student party, and while she seemed like a fun person I didn't get any contact info that day. Months later, she recognized me walking out of a class and this time we did exchange info. Over the next two years we became good friends, comfortable reaching out to one another in times of stress, to help with studying, or just to hang out. The summer before junior year we both decided to gamble this friendship and started dating. It payed off, but at the end of our undergraduate program one question loomed. Outside our favorite coffee shop, "Will you come to Pittsburgh with me?". The answer for me was clear, "Yes"! We spent a month road-tripping around the country, enjoying each others company and falling further in love. From Pittsburgh we moved to Phoenix, and we became obsessed with a game called Hollow Knight. In February 2023, I asked Mia to play Hollow Knight with me, but this time the game was different, modified to convey my feelings, our story, and deliver the question, "Will you adventure with me for the rest of our lives?". Choked up I asked "Will you marry me?" ring box in hand, and like outside the coffee shop five years ago the answer was yes.