Our story begins several years back when Ricky first saw Sukhpreet at a bhangra competition. Just like your most popular love story, Sukhpreet knew nothing of Ricky’s existence, however, to Ricky it was love at first sight. To Ricky, when he first saw Sukhpreet, it was that Academy Awards cinematic moment where white doves were flying behind her, flower petals were raining down, and where time slowed down such that Ricky was able to approach Sukhpreet and whisk her away. Cutting back to reality, he asked his friends, who were competing at that competition, who she was. Ricky’s friends responded by saying her name is Sukhpreet, and you have absolutely no chance at all with her. Ricky didn’t take these “words of advice” from his friends seriously, and instead, decided to attempt to talk to Sukhpreet. Ricky thought of the most perfect plan. Ricky realized one of his close friends would be playing dhol for Sukhpreet’s team, and naturally, both Sukhpreet’s team and the dholi would need to practice together to ensure they both were on beat. Ricky decided to take this opportunity to approach Sukhpreet and at least initiate some form of a conversation. Unfortunately, Ricky failed miserably for several reasons; 1) he had absolutely zero confidence to annunciate even a single word, and instead, stood awkwardly by the door the entire time while they practiced, 2) he had no idea how to start the conversation because what were there shared interests, what things did she like, etc., and 3) hilariously enough, he had no beard at this point in time so that already put Ricky at a competitive disadvantage. However, as Confucius once said, “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall”. In essence, don’t hold onto failure, and instead, use that failure as motivation to learn and improve. Ricky started becoming more involved in bhangra, competing at different competitions, and simply engaging in opportunities which would improve the likelihood of running into Sukhpreet again. This time allowed Ricky to gain enough confidence in himself to be able to at least attempt to conversate with Sukhpreet when the next opportunity would allow. Ricky was determined to avoid another awkward and detrimental moment like the previous attempt where he stood in the doorway and did absolutely nothing. Lance Armstrong said, “Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever”, and while waiting in the doorway awkwardly was excruciatingly painful, Ricky was determined to make the most out of a second opportunity with Sukhpreet when that opportunity would arise. Rather than waiting in the doorway, utilize that self-confidence to help start a conversation and hope for the best. Several years pass by of Ricky and Sukhpreet not crossing paths. Fortunately, on one lucky day, Ricky befriended Hardeep (Sukhpreet’s younger sister), and casually asked after all the bhangra teams’ tech time how her older sister was? Unknowingly to Ricky, she conveniently went back home to convey the message to her older sister about how some guy named Ricky was asking about her. To which, Sukhpreet began questioning who this Ricky guy was, and why was he asking how I’m doing? The seeds were planted, kind of like the movie Inception, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, where he subconsciously plants an idea within the mind of his client! What made this even more funny was Ricky had no idea that this had even happened, he was genuinely interested in how she was after all this time. According to Oprah, “Failure is another steppingstone to greatness”, and without realizing Ricky was on his way to at least have another opportunity at meeting Sukhpreet. I guess Confucius was right about not holding onto failure, Lance Armstrong was right about persevering, and Oprah was right about using that failure to learn and grow – all in all, persistence pays off.

Shortly after, and luckily enough, both of our bhangra coaches decided to work together for an upcoming competition. Sukhpreet’s team needed a handful of guys, and Ricky decided to volunteer himself to compete alongside Sukhpreet’s team knowing sure enough Sukhpreet would be there. During their first practice, Ricky ensured himself that this couldn’t be like the last time where he awkwardly stood by the door, he understood the assignment this time around, his beard was grown and groomed, and he made sure to confidently walk over to Sukhpreet and introduce himself. This was technically the start of their friendship. From that point on it was sporadic communication and they would always run into each other at various competitions or events which also helped further develop their friendship. Eventually, it reached a point where Ricky had to ask Sukhpreet for her phone number, and thus, they began communicating over text. After many months of texting back and forth, Ricky learned that they did, in fact, have many common interests such as a love for animals, a passion for career success, the desire to get into business and take control of their futures, a love for the Punjabi language, a love for delicious foods, a desire to travel the world and experience adventure, a love for watching comedy shows, and the list goes on and on. Ricky finally amassed enough courage to take the leap of faith and ask Sukhpreet out on a date. The weight of the universe rested on the execution of this for Ricky. The thought of Sukhpreet saying “no” put so much fear into Ricky’s mind because he couldn’t bear to lose her as a friend. Ricky remembered the wise words of Confucius, Lance Armstrong, and Oprah and decided to ask her out anyways. The set up was perfect, we were eating dinner, and Ricky was waiting for the perfect moment to pop the question. Ricky was, however, sweating and shaking due to the nervousness and potential for failure. It was all or nothing at this point and Ricky wasn’t going to waste this opportunity. With his extremely fast heart rate, sweaty palms, and shaking knees, Ricky asked the most stressful question he’s ever had to ask. Fortunately, enough, she said yes to going on a date with him! And the rest is history. That was by far the happiest moment for Ricky because he finally landed the woman of his dreams! After Sukhpreet agreed to go on a date with Ricky, it was like the world flipped on its head and all the dominoes started falling for them both. They both constantly texted and spoke on the phone. They were constantly going out and spending time with one another. They were constantly building their relationship one brick at a time. Anytime they were out, it was like the whole world stood still, hours would pass by, and any semblance of time went out the window. Before they knew it, by the end of the date, they were the last 2 people at the location. In this giant and vast world, they were able to find their soulmates. What started as friendship, blossomed, and transformed into an unbreakable relationship, and that is our story!