Let’s go back to Northern Arizona University in 2013. Sami was fresh off of a semester abroad in ~ C o s t a R i c a ~ feeling ever so cultured. Sand from Tamarindo beach still in her shoes and the suns sweet kiss still emanating from her skin. She hadn’t been able to drink anything other than rum and jumex juice for an entire year after that because it “reminds me of Pura Vida and my host family”. Which looking back at it now seems hilarious that the whitest person in Flagstaff found his way into her life. We had a mutual friend in Bianca Lopez who I had several classes with as a business major. One night after a party my roommate Jeff Harris mentioned that Bianca and her friends were having a party across the street… That’s when I saw her in a striped black dress, “My God” I thought to myself, “she’s perfect”. I proceeded to talk to anyone who would listen about the “Latin love of my life”. In a completely non-cliché way this was love at first sight for me. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite mutual because I still had a mop top haircut and patchy facial hair. I spent the next year and 3 weeks in the ever-so-dangerous“Friendzone”, not a lot of guys make it out so a moment of silence for our fallen members… Several attempts at getting a kiss at parties, going over for tea time with Sami, Eli, Danika, and Bianca and an adult haircut got me out. And now here we are almost 8 years later. I’m forever in love with you Samantha, I can’t wait for forever with you.