Arif's first words to me were, "You have a beautiful smile". Our first real date was at his favorite spot: The Burger Joint in the Heights. He ordered a burger (no fries—suspicious, criminal behavior), and I had a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. Talking to him was easy. Even though we come from different cultures and speak different native languages we understood each other and just "clicked". What drew me in most was Arif's kind and respectful nature. He was always paying attention and always the perfect gentleman. Thoughtful down to the music he'd play when we would hang out (Taylor Swift, obviously). From the beginning, it just felt easy being together. Weekends together became our norm. Him introducing me to Lahmacun (Turkish pizza), Crazy Bees (Russian gummy candy), and sour green plums. Me teaching him about Taylor Swift lore, Lululemon, and Bucc-ee's. Vacations together in New Orleans, Austin, Galveston, New York, Philly… and before we knew it, we were celebrating our one-year anniversary on March 28, 2025. We kicked off our anniversary with a dinner at Brenner’s on the Bayou, followed by a beach getaway the next weekend in a cozy Galveston beach house. While packing for our beach trip, I asked Arif (like I usually do) what color I should paint my nails. “Maybe white?” he offered. “Nah, that’s boring, I think I’ll go with neon pink.” I had no idea what was coming. At the beach house, after I insisted he watch the season finale of White Lotus with me (he hadn’t seen a single episode, but I assured him it would be good), he poured us some wine and suggested we go out to look at the stars. In my sweatpants, still clueless, I followed him outside. That’s when he raised a glass to toast “us”—then got down on one knee and proposed. It takes a lot to truly surprise me—but in that moment, my jaw hit the floor. It was perfect. Now, I get to spend forever with the most thoughtful, caring, patient, and genuinely sweet person I’ve ever met. And I couldn’t be more excited.

I was pretty nervous during my first few dates with Sara. I didn’t think my English was very good—and honestly, it’s still not amazing. I kept worrying: how are we even going to communicate? But every time we met, the hours would just fly by. After each date, I’d think to myself, “Wow, I must be getting really good at English!” At least until I tried speaking with someone else—then I’d stumble and struggle again. That’s when I realized something magical was happening when I was with Sara. I guess that something was called LOVE. Every moment with her truly felt like a fairytale. We’d get so lost in conversation that we wouldn’t even notice the time. Most of the time, it was the waiter coming over to say “we’re closing up” that reminded us how late it had gotten. And it wasn’t just the first date—it’s always been like that, and I know it always will be. It feels like we were just planning our first date yesterday, and now here we are planning our wedding and honeymoon. Sometimes it feels like I just met Sara yesterday; other times, like I’ve known her forever. Every moment I spend with her is something I treasure deeply. With Sara, I’m living a fairytale—and I know this story will last forever.