If there is an award for "Worst First Impression", Stacy would say I was the top nominee. It was halfway through June of 2016 on a beautiful summer evening. I had just finished work for the day and headed to the gym to meet my buddy, Quoc. Yes, he has the same name as me. After crushing another workout, we laid on the turf to cool off. At this point, I looked like a sweaty, stinky mess in a tank top that was a size too small. In other words, a douchebag. Along comes a bright blonde haired girl who stopped to say hello to Quoc, who then introduced me as "Also Quoc". They continued to catch up while I paid no attention and focused on my stretching. As we were leaving the gym, I said "It was nice to meet you..uh... Tracey?... Sandy?..." And she yelled "STACY!!!" Not the greatest first impression. Secretly, I was interested in her and just too shy to express it. I soon came across her Facebook and I was gitty with joy when she accepted my friend request. This was before "sliding into her DMs" was a thing, but that's exactly what I did. I messaged her saying "I promise I will remember your name next time!" For the next two hours, we LOL'd at each other's jokes! Stacy figured out that I was a smartypants who went to school for engineering and forced me to tutor her in Calculus. Being the incredible friend that I am, I agreed. This resulted in Stacy admitting how attractive it was when I solved her homework problems. She was getting A's in class and I was getting A's in her heart. Feel free to throw up. On October 24 when I asked Stacy to be my girlfriend by giving her a promise ring. My promise was to cherish her and triumph through any obstacles, together. Stacy has been the person to keep my head on straight when life gives me lemons and to celebrate with when I have my biggest victories. She understands my weakest points and how to let my strengths shine. She empowers me to be my very best, and who I will spend my life with. I love you. I can't wait to marry you.

After reading Quoc’s detailed story about how we met, I would say he got it pretty spot on. I was at the gym and saw my friend (not Fiance) Quoc. We said "hi" and he introduced me to (Fiance) Quoc. I’m glad I got a chance to meet him, although he wasn’t the best with first impressions. He also wasn’t the best conversationalist. As the other Quoc was catching up with me, my Fiance Quoc just kept stretching by himself and doing his own thing. I didn’t like him already! I mean, you meet a new friend and all you do is go to the side and stretch, AND you failed to remember my name; -10 points for him. But even after all the mishaps, I gave him a chance to redeem himself. That's when I met the real Quoc Tran and found out he's funny, caring, and a great listener. Let's not focus on “how we met”, but rather, “how we developed a bond with one another.” When I think about our relationship, I don’t think about the time in the gym where I met him, or when he didn’t remember my name. No. I think about where we were in life when we met and where we are now. The contrast is remarkable. Think of it as... you’re giving all your love and attention to this one person, and seeing him grow and take in your love and energy, all while becoming a better person in front of your very own eyes. It's just amazing. The Quoc Tran I met before is nowhere close to the man he is now. We have grown together, we listen to the other's criticism and learn to change for the better, we have the same dreams and passion and we motivate each other to pursue them. Our relationship over the last 3 years has been quite the road trip. We have encountered our fair share of rough bumps in the road, some that may have ended us in a total wreck, but we always chose to keep driving forward. We learned to navigate around the bumps or take them on slower. Our patience and perseverance keeps us going. I'm not quite sure where our destination is, but all I can say is…I'm really happy to be on this journey with Quoc.