I first met Tina at KYAA in 2015. I asked my Knanaya Index, aka my best friend James, who immediately told me her name, age, favorite color, etc. I was so worried about coming on too strong so I started with a simple "Hey”. We had a whole conversation about our Fitbit watches, exchanged social media info and left it at that. Little did she know that I was crushing on her hard. Over the next year I messaged her and commented on her posts, making small conversation and getting to know her a little more. There was even a time we were both in India together. I sent her a Fb message saying, “hey if you’re free maybe we could grab coffee at Seematti”. And of course, in classic Tina fashion, she responded with a “I don’t drink coffee”. Fast forward to Kna convention 2016. I still recall her walking into one of the pre-games on the first night. I never understood how someone could suddenly make my talkative-self run out of words and become so nervous. I tried so hard to talk to her and constantly asked my friends if she was feeling me or not. It wasn’t until my friend Jina yelled at me and told me to either man up, talk to her or move on. So I went up to Tina and told her I was tired of messaging her on social media and wanted to get her number. Later that weekend I confessed that I came to convention to do two things. The first was to get her number and the second was to buy her a drink. Tina then let me buy her that drink at the bar. We continued to talk and text over the next few months. Because of long distance, we found innovative ways to do things together. Whether it was reading Harry Potter over the phone or watching Malayalam movies on FaceTime. We'd meet up in either FL or NJ every month and explored our cities together. My favorite memory Tina and I share is when she came to upstate NY and surprised me at the lake house we rented for my graduation. And now, 5 years from when we first met, we are ready to embark on our newest adventure!

Steve said we were going to this vineyard wedding in Upstate New York. The night before our trip, he got really weird about me getting my nails done. He said “Why are you going all out, do you think I’m proposing or something?” I was very confused cause getting a mani-pedi isn’t a big deal and thought maybe he is proposing! The next day as we drove up, he showed me the wedding invite which I thoroughly examined for authenticity…it looked so real! Then I just felt silly and let the whole proposal thing go. On the morning of, we got ready for this "rustic vineyard wedding." We pulled up to a house with a bunch of cars parked around. We walked through the backyard and stopped right before the woods where I looked up to see a sign that said “Walk Our Story”. And that’s when I knew! As we made our way through, there were picture frames hanging on the trees. Each tree represented a milestone in our relationship with pictures and memorabilia we both saved over the years. From our first conversation to meeting each other’s grandmothers in India and everything in between. We get to the dock where he takes my hand and starts telling me all the things he loves about me and a whole bunch more I can’t remember! Next thing you know he’s down on one knee with a little black box in his hand, I’m saying “YES!” a million times over and hugging him. I hear people screaming/cheering. I turn around to see our family and friends from NJ, NY, Philly, Chicago, Florida and even the Caribbean! We all go to this winery where the celebrations continue and spent the rest of the weekend at that lake house all together. Quick backstory on this ever so special lake house..... So 2 years ago, Steve hosted a weekend trip for his graduation. I said I had finals and couldn't make it, but successfully surprised him there! Turns out he was able to surprise me at that same lake house I surprised him at a couple years ago. Now no more surprises, we're getting married!