Alyssa: When I signed up for my first semester of classes as a freshman at the University of San Francisco in 2013, I had no idea that I was about to meet my future best friend, co-conspirator, legal counsel and husband. Ian caught my eye the minute he walked into RHET 130: a guy with long shaggy hair, no textbooks, and fifteen minutes late. "What kind of a guy can't make it to their first class on time? What a slacker.." I thought. Several months later, I found out that Ian had flown in from Hong Kong, upon which his parent's rental car had been burglarized (very San Francisco) that first day of class, and, not only were his lap top and textbooks stolen, he was late because he had been filing a police report that morning. I also learned that it's easy to judge people, and that, more often than not, those judgements are wrong.

Almost ten years later, I'm happy to say that I've been proven wrong over and over again by this incredible person. He's a motivated lawyer, a thoughtful partner, supportive cat-dad, and has always encouraged me to explore this beautiful world. Together, we moved to Los Angeles, pursued higher education, traveled to new places, and made incredible friends and a family along the way. We've experienced highs, lows, and everything in-between. I feel truly privileged to have gotten to grow through life with Ian by my side.

Ian: I've always heard stories about love-at-first-sight, but I've never been one to believe it.

No, our story starts with an awkward self-introduction in our freshman rhetoric class, where I introduced myself to Lyss in the hopes of making a new friend in a new city. Unsure of my intentions, Lyss hesitantly gave me her number, and I sent a solitary invitation to explore J-town, only to never hear from her again...

Or rather, that's how it would have been.

Instead, 6 months later, our social circles would overlap and we'd find ourselves sitting across from each other at lunch with our now blended friend group. It was during this second meeting that we finally got to know each other.

Excited over our growing friend group, we exchanged our contact information, only for that same solitary message to pop up as it did months ago. I'll never forget the perplexed look on Lyss' face, nor will I forget how hard we laughed when we figured out how we'd already met. From then we would be inseparable. If we weren't with our found-family of friends or in class, we were most likely together exploring the city on yet another quest to do and see as much as San Francisco could offer.

Now, nearly 10 years later, and our journey has gone global. Come rain or shine, I still look at her smiling face and her warm hands in mine, and I feel reassured, just as I have countless times through the many miles we've travelled and adventures we've conquered. And still, we joke about how we nearly missed out on a lifetime of joy, love and laughter because she couldn't figure out my intentions.

Apparently, neither could I because I'm about to marry my best friend and the love of my life, and all I asked was for someone to explore San Francisco with me.

To quote Bob Ross, there are no such things as mistakes... Only happy accidents, and I'll never forget how lucky I was to find myself accidentally in love.