Sivan and I met in 2017 working the closing shifts at the Starbucks kiosk in the middle of Ala Moana mall. I will always remember the first night I introduced myself and she ignored me because she was so focused on her work. I immediately had a crush on her. Originally I was only supposed to work until 9pm, but Sivan would always convince me to stay late and close with her, JP, and Sera. Because of that we all quickly became friends. Unbeknownst to us, JP and Sera thought we would make a good couple and tried to set us up together. It worked so well that Sivan asked me out on the first date! We would go on 3 more dates before I was brave enough to kiss her. Before we had met we were both at UH Manoa studying kinesiology to become physical therapists. It turns out we were even in the same classes together and didn’t even realize. We both graduated and applied to graduate school. I was accepted at Chapman University in Orange County and had to go long-distance from Irvine to Aiea. A year later Sivan was accepted to The University of St. Augustine in San Diego where our relationship morphed to “medium-distance”. We would take turns driving up/down to see each other on the weekends. After I had graduated we moved into our first apartment together. It was a risk because I still had to take my licensing exam or else I would not be able to work for a few months. The day I found out I passed my exam I bought her engagement ring. I proposed in December 2022 in our 1-bedroom apartment surrounded by candles. I will never forget her eyes when I asked the question and I will never remember the speech I was supposed to say to her before I asked her to marry me. Sivan said yes and then flew back to Hawai’i for 3 months for her last clinical rotation. Today we are both physical therapists working for the same company. Different clinics of course, because working together can put a strain on a relationship. We are still living in Orange County and it is about 20 minutes to get to Disneyland from our apartment; we go about once a month. On a Saturday morning in June 2023, we fell in love with a yellow dog lying in the grass during an adoption event at the nearby animal shelter. Nugget has been part of our little family since. 2024 marks 7 years together. Sivan had just turned 21 a month before we were officially a couple. We were both baristas working the night shift studying at UH Manoa. Now we are 28 years old with careers we weren’t even certain we could achieve. It still feels like our relationship is just over 2 years long. We have grown so much together and our relationship has evolved over all that time. And this relationship would not be where it is today without all of you! Sivan and I are who we are because of the role you have played in our lives. You have helped us become our perfect match for each other. For that, we are both so grateful and look forward to celebrating with you on OUR special day.