When I saw Allison for the first time, she was singing karaoke in front of a room full of strangers including myself at our overnight college orientation in June of 2018. I remember thinking she was a great singer, as did many of the other people watching. After I got tired of watching karaoke, I decided to head back to my room and go to bed early. As I was settling in, my roommate for the night knocked on the door and informed me that he was inviting several people to hang out for a while since it was lights out downstairs. Since it was clear I wasn’t going to bed any time soon, I decided to be social and talk to the group, although I was particularly interested in talking to a girl who I had seen singing karaoke earlier. Over the next few hours, Allison and I talked and got to know each other. We bonded over the fact that we have the same birthday(one year apart). I could tell she had a great personality and sense of humor, and that we share similar values. When the rest of the group finally decided it was time to go to bed around 4 AM, I knew I had to see her again.

We exchanged numbers and set up our first date at a Reds game a couple of weeks later. We went on a few more dates over the summer, and when fall came, the night we first moved into our dorms, I asked her to be my girlfriend. We were each other’s first serious relationship, and we didn’t know what to expect, but over the next few years we fell in love and before I knew it I knew she was the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Throughout college, we have been there for each other through our hardest times, and been there to celebrate each other in the best of times.

By my final semester of college, I knew there was no one else I would rather spend my life with than Allison, so I bought a ring and proposed on a beautiful Cincinnati spring day. Hearing her say yes was one of the best moments of my life, and I’m so excited for our wedding so we can start our new life together.

-Max