Our Story (By Zahra) ✨ From Rejection Letters to Forever We both had the same goal when we started: study hard and "become something." What we didn't expect was that our biggest disappointment would turn into our greatest adventure. So here's what happened: we both applied to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and we both got rejected. But instead of giving up, we decided to appeal the decision to the committee. Guess what? It worked! We both got accepted on our second try. The universe was definitely up to something. --- It Started with a WhatsApp Group 📱 Like most modern love stories, ours began in a group chat. It was supposed to be for sharing university info, housing tips, course schedules, and the usual stuff. But Mudit had other plans. He would not stop talking about soccer, and for some reason, I kept responding to his random soccer commentary, thinking this was just how you made friends in a new country. We started sharing notes and having long discussions about our classes. Those conversations were really the beginning of everything, even though neither of us had realized it yet. --- The Portrait Incident & my sister's manifestation 🎨 By August, we'd both made it to America! I traveled first and was in Chicago with my sister while Mudit traveled directly to Champaign after a few days. One day, he mentioned it would be nice to have some kind of "welcome" gesture since he was new to the country, and I was already here. So what did I do? I drew him a portrait (that's my artistic instinct). Yes, you read that right. I sketched a picture of a guy I'd only known through text messages and decided to give it to him when we meet. (It's obviously a rookie sketch 😝 see below!) When my sister, brother-in-law, and I drove down to Champaign to help me move in, Mudit came over to meet us. Watching him immediately click with them, like they were old friends exploring my new place together, just felt right. Everything felt easy and natural. After he left that evening, my sister looked at me with that knowing big sister smile and said, "He's cute." Some people call it intuition. We're convinced she manifested our entire relationship in that moment. Haha! --- From Friends to Forever 💕 What started with rejection letters and way too many soccer debates slowly became something neither of us expected. We became each other's person in this new country, figuring out grocery runs together, calling each other when we were homesick, celebrating the small wins, and surviving the tough days side by side. Somewhere along the way, between study sessions and random adventures around campus, we realized we weren't just building a great friendship. We were accidentally building a life together. And honestly? We couldn't be happier about this beautiful accident. --- We're so grateful for everyone who's been part of our story so far. Now we get to celebrate the next chapter with all of you! Zahra & Mudit 💫