In the summer of 2020, the middle of the pandemic, I joined Bumble (a dating app where the girl has to make the first move). Knowing I was mere months away from moving back in with my parents in Lawrenceville, I had 0 intentions of meeting anyone, and certainly not the person I would eventually find. While sitting on my sister’s couch in the midst of one of my many quarantine periods away from my parents, I got the notification that I matched with someone. Not thinking much of it, I opened up my phone to see a gorgeous smile and the name Madison staring back at me. For someone who loves analyzing data, I admittedly spent too much time over analyzing and waiting for the perfect moment to ask Madison on a first date. So long in fact that she beat me to it. (For those of you keeping track, first move score: Madison 2 - Eric 0.) For our first date, I suggested we meet at a game bar near her in Sandy Springs. That way if the conversation faded, we could kill the awkward silence with a board game. First look, I was blown away. She was stunning, and we spent the whole night talking and getting to know each other, no board games needed. We left that date making sure that we already had intentions of a second date. I couldn’t believe how much we had in common, and remember thinking to myself that this is “too good to be true”. When I got home, I realized I had one glaring problem. What was going to happen when I told this girl I was leaving to go live in California for a month? By some miracle, she waited. When I got back from my COVID adventure, we picked up right where we left off. Laughing, goofing around, and falling in love. The phrase “When you know, you know” always comes to mind when I look back at these moments. It’s a phrase that people preach when they find their soulmate, but I never thought it really carried any meaning. I now understand exactly what they meant all those years. No over analyzing needed… When you know you really do know. Madison, I can’t wait to marry you! ⁃Eric