In July of 2014, Dana and I began our medical education at The University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham. On our first day of school, I was overwhelmed looking at our classmates as they all seemed to know each other and talked like long time friends. Once I talked to people, I found out that most went to undergrad at The University of Alabama or Auburn University. I later discovered that in our class of 186, only 19 were out of state students, mostly from surrounding states. I felt out of place to say the least. Everyone seemed to be hollering "Roll Tide" and "War Eagle" at each other and I hadn't chosen a side yet. (Pretty obvious now that I wouldn't be allowed to marry Dana if I was anything other than a Crimson Tide Fan. Don't worry though. I’m still a Penn Stater at heart.) There was no one to yell "We Are" with me.

I went to the right side of the classroom where my assigned Learning Community was meeting. A pretty, blonde girl sat down next to me and said, "Hi! I'm Dana! Why do you look down?" I explained to her that it seemed like everyone knew each other and were already friends, and then there was me, a Jersey Boy down in Alabama, who didn’t have anything in common with anyone. Dana told me that she only knew a couple of people who completed their Masters with her at The University of Alabama. She then explained that everyone was just being Southern and friendly as they met each other. We kept on talking and Dana became one of my first friends down in Alabama. On that day, we were actually both dating other people and we truly became just good friends.

In the Spring of 2015, we took our Renal final and completed our first year of medical school. It was a beautiful day outside and the entire med school class decided to celebrate at Avondale Brewery. I was there with my roommate at the time, Nathan Judge, having a couple beers while waiting for others to join, when Dana and her friends arrived. I don't know to this day what got into that little blonde girl, but Dana saw me from across the brewery, ran to me, and jump hugged me. I certainly wasn't complaining though. My previous relationship had ended months before and I liked spending time with Dana, the Southern belle. We spent the afternoon together just hanging out, drinking some beer, and enjoying some laughs. Then, I found out that her relationship had also ended weeks before. That got me thinking and, at that time, I realized that I may have feelings for Dana.

On July 3rd, 2015, I discovered that Iron City in Birmingham was hosting a Latin Dance Party with lessons. As my mom's Argentinian blood flows through my veins and I have developed skillful moves from years of ballroom dance lessons, I knew I had to go to this dance party. I texted Dana and asked her to join me. She said yes! She came over to my apartment with her friends that evening wearing an off the shoulder light pink top. I thought she looked beautiful. The group of us walked over to Iron City just in time for the lessons to begin. The teacher went over the basic steps and timing of the dance. Dana had no idea that I could already salsa and bachata dance. We went to the bar to grab a drink after the lesson ended. Once the first song came on, I looked at Dana and asked her, “May I have this dance?” She said yes! We went down to the dance floor for our first dance, which Dana still describes as “He literally swept me off my feet!” As the night went on, we continued to dance and I could not stop noticing how beautiful Dana looked with her big smile and blue eyes. I felt completely in my element dancing and wasn’t nervous at all until I realized I wanted to kiss Dana. Did she want to kiss me? I didn’t know. I built up my courage and leaned down to kiss her… on the forehead. Yup, our first kiss was me kissing her on the forehead! Good job Asaf... A little later into the night though, we did share our first kiss together and I could not have been happier.

Over the next several of months, we continued to spend time together, but we never officially said that we were dating. On October 31st, 2015, our school hosted a Halloween party at Southern Kitchen. I dressed as Wolverine from X-men and Dana was Little Red Riding Hood, a classic combination of costumes. That night was a blur of dancing, snacks, drinks, and spending time with our friends. At the end of the party while we were standing out front, I looked at Little Red Riding Hood and couldn't think of a time when I was happier. With an air of Wolverine confidence, I told her “I like you a lot and you’re my favorite person. Will you be my girlfriend?” My heart was pounding out of my chest. She said yes! The next morning, I met Dana for breakfast and greeted her with a big goofy smile and said “Good morning Girlfriend.” Her face lit up and so did mine. We were both so happy!

We continued dating and learning all about each other. The more I learned, the more I liked. Eventually, I learned about the perk that Dana was hiding from me, her beach house. After some smooth negotiating skills, I finally convinced her to take me down to her beach house during the Summer of 2016. We enjoyed a day on the boat with her parents and their best friends, followed by dinner over at their house. After dinner, we decided to have a relaxing movie night and watch Deadpool. While we are watching the movie, I looked around the living room and saw Charles and Sandra (Dana’s parents) cuddled up on the couch. Then, I saw that Tod and Lisa (Charles and Sandra’s best friends) were also cuddled up on the couch. I looked at where I was, cuddled up on the couch with Dana. It was at that exact moment that I told myself, “I am going to marry this girl.”

Over the next three years, Dana and I took three board exams, moved three times (to Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, and Winston-Salem), graduated medical school, interviewed at twenty-four residency programs, allowed Jackson (Dana’s dog) to gain fifteen pounds, and started residency. On May 8th, 2019, we finally found time for a vacation together and decided to go on a cruise to Havana, Cuba and Cozumel, Mexico. I had already done my homework and vaguely remembered Dana mentioning once that she liked solitaire type rings rather than rings with extra stuff on the side. That was all the information I needed. I knew Dana’s style and found the perfect diamond and ring for her.

We spent the first day of our vacation exploring the Majesty of The Seas, our cruise ship. That evening, we ventured over to the Moonlight Dining Room located on the 3rd floor of the ship. The host led us to our assigned group dinner table, Table 347. Our table was bigger than I imagined and I became concerned that it would effect my plan. Luckily, we were the first to arrive from our group. I strategically placed us in the corner of the large table so that I could appreciate my princess, and hopefully soon to be Queen. As we stated talking, I noticed the box in my right pant pocket was burning. “Let me out!!! Let me rest on her finger!!!” It took everything in me to calm the ring and myself down. “When the time is right, the time is right. Right now isn’t the time.” There were too many people walking around and we didn’t even have anything to drink yet. But the biggest reason, I was too nervous. I was thinking of the three and a half years we shared together, learning about one another and making memories. I knew I shouldn’t be nervous, but it was the most important question I would ever asked anyone.

As we sat at the dinner table, a family of four joined us. We learned that they were a mother and father vacationing with their daughter and her husband. After our introductions, the conversation transitioned to how Dana and I had met. Dana described our first meeting on the first day of med school. As they listened intently, the conversation transitioned to surprises. I described how Dana is bad at surprising me and she tried to defend herself by saying that she’s not bad at surprises, but that I am snoopy. We talked about all the times that I have surprised her with birthday parties, presents, and drop-in visits. Then there was a short pause. I could not contain myself or the ring any longer. I reached down into my right pocket, pulled out the ring box, opened it up under the table, made sure the ring was presentable, and switched it over to my left hand. I looked Dana in the eyes, “I wouldn’t want to surprise anyone else. I love you. You’re my best friend and my favorite person.” I looked over at the family and gave them a smirk. “And I have another surprise.” I pushed back my chair, my left hand came flying up with the ring box, and I got down onto my right knee. Normally this would kill because I'm not flexible at all, but the adrenaline made me feel indestructible. “I love you so much.” Dana reached out and try to take the ring out of the box. “No, you have to wait… I wouldn’t want to spend the rest of my life with anyone else. You make me smile every single day. You make me happy when I wake up and give me something to look forward to the next day. You truly are my favorite person. I want to grow old together. Well me, because you don’t seem to get older. I want to have a little family together and be there with Jackson. But most importantly, I want to be there with you. I love you more than I ever thought possible. Dana, will you marry me?” Dana’s big eyes shimmered as bright as the diamond in front of her and her smile went from ear to ear. My heart was pounding out of my chest. “Yes!” The weight of the world lifted off my shoulders. I took the ring out of the box and went to place it on Dana’s right hand. She laughed and said, “No, wrong hand.” I was so nervous, but so happy, and said, “Sorry, this is my first time.” I regained my composure and placed it perfectly on her left ring finger.