I first set eyes on Zack in a 550+ person lecture hall in Biology 101, spring quarter of freshman year of college. I LOVE to describe our story because I still can't believe how it worked out to this day. I had decided I was ready to make new friends this quarter, so I arrived to the huge lecture hall early. I looked around the room and saw this cute guy standing in the middle of an otherwise empty row of chairs. For some reason, I had a random surge of courage (or just went totally blank) and decided to march right up to him and sit down not one or two chairs away, but RIGHT next to him. And...I immediately regretted my decision. But it was too late -- moving over a seat after that would have been even weirder, I decided, so I was stuck. I avoided eye contact with him like my life depended on it while students continued to filter into the room.

After several minutes, during which I was mentally berating myself for my actions, the professor told everyone to introduce themselves to neighbors. Finally, I had to turn and face this smiling, handsome face staring at me (as I recall, Zack greeted me first, and was just as friendly as friendly could be). We had to work together to fill out a worksheet and Zack seemed like he was chatting with me throughout the lecture way more than would be ordinary for small talk. But then again, maybe he was just a really cute, sweet biology nerd.

Over the next few weeks, I would see Zack from afar in the classroom, but didn't get to talk with him again until he passed by me when leaving the class and said "Well hello, Anna." Suddenly, I couldn't remember his darn name and, wracking my brain, called him something like "Josh." Boy, did he give me a jokingly hard time about that. But because of that worksheet we had done together, I frantically visualized his handwriting on that piece of paper and rescued myself! With Zack's giant, impish smile beaming at me all the while.

After that, Zack started to walk me back to the dorms after class three times a week. Those little moments became the highlight of my day, when we would talk and laugh and smile until our cheeks hurt. I quickly realized I had the biggest crush on this dude. So when my friends mentioned starting a study group for bio, I sneakily asked Zack for his phone number "just to add him to the study group." And that was how, one fateful evening, I managed to find the courage to ask Zack to get lunch with me before lecture that week, texting him before he left on a long weekend with his family. I just HAD to know if he was just a super nice guy or if he liked me back!

(Yes, there is a video of me freaking out in my dorm room with Molly right before sending that text. Yes, we will play it at the wedding, 6 years later.)

And so, we went on their first date, to which I was late after freaking out over what to wear. Zack brought me to a pho restaurant, during which we talked ceaselessly while laughing about my inability to use chopsticks. (Don't worry, we've gotten pho a LOT together since then, and I have greatly improved.) We walked to get boba and played a game of Jenga, during which we found out that we share the same favorite movie snacks. I was utterly smitten. As Zack wouldn't confess until years later, he actually blew off a class to continue to hang out. This date lasted four hours, and the second date lasted eight. Neither of us wanted to say goodbye and we still can't get enough of each other to this day.

Now here we are, about to embark on that longest date ever -- marriage. Zack proposed to me on the most perfect day, at a beautiful hidden cove on Orcas Island on September 14, 2024, and I was shouting yes before he could even finish the question. Good thing he wasn't asking me if I forgot the camping tent.

To this day I still can't believe how it all worked out. As I tell Zack all the time, I am the luckiest girl in the world and I cannot wait to spend forever loving him.

When I met Anna, we were lost in a sea of our fellow college students in a massive lecture hall at UW, yet somehow I got lucky enough to (apparently) catch the attention of the young woman I would one day marry. She'll tell you that she awkwardly sat down directly beside me in a row that contained dozens of seats, all of them empty except mine and was immediately horrified by her decision. Frankly I do not remember this moment as I was probably completely oblivious to the situation (as most young men are) but I do remember later in that class when our professor instructed us to introduce ourselves to the people to our left and right. I remember this because Anna was on my left and after introducing myself to her, seeing her, and making my best attempt at small talk with this beautiful, clearly intelligent woman, I utterly forgot about the person to my right. After the end of the class, we walked together nearly all the way to her dorm building before I had to turn off to make my way to my studio, but for the rest of the day (hell the rest of my life so far) I couldn't keep her out of my head.

A few more classes or sitting side by side and talking too much gone by, Anna invited me to join her newly forming study group for the class. I of course was happy with this development, not only because I was a nerd for the subject (BIO 101) but because it meant she was going to serve up her phone number on a silver platter; little did I know she was really just trying to get mine. My daydreaming (and ignorance of her intentions) continued until I finally gained the courage to ask her out on a date. I had this plan to ask her out after our Friday class together so that if she said no, I could run away, or if she said yes then we could plan something for the weekend. To my surprise she beat me to it and asked me out that Wednesday night before my plan could come to fruition. The next day I skipped my chemistry quiz section that I had forgotten about when I emphatically accepted her lunch invitation for the next day. Anyways, that would be the first of several long dates we went on before finally agreeing to call each other "boyfriend and girlfriend" on her birthday! A fantastic birthday gift for her to be certain...

Over the next 6 years we would spend as much time together as we could, going through some hard times (the Covid-19 era) and thankfully many more wonderful times. At the 5 year mark in our relationship we were almost a full 2 years out of school and I decided it was more than time to buy this woman a ring, so I did, and I promptly held on to it for the next 3 months, carrying it with us on many trips and adventures before I found the perfect moment to ask her to be my wife (spoiler alert, she said yes).

The last 6 years of my life have been full of love and adventure with this fantastic woman, and I cannot wait to continue it for as long as she continues to tolerate me.