We both never would've guessed when we first met that we would end up where we are today - living and working together in the same city, and becoming dog parents to the cutest Pomeranian in the world.

Mehdi and I met, like so many other couples our age, on a dating app called Hinge. He messaged me first asking if I knew a very good friend of mine, and after that, the conversation began to flow. At that time, I was about to graduate from the University of Texas at Austin with my Master in Accounting. I wasn't looking for commitment at the time - I was about to start my life in a brand new city working full time. He was wrapping up his junior year, unsure of where he was going to end up that summer, let alone after college.

Our first date was at Cain & Abel's, a very popular student bar in West Campus. We continued talking consistently and hanging out the next few weeks. I had convinced myself that I wasn't looking for someone, let alone a relationship, especially since I was moving in a few months. However, Mehdi was so sweet and fun to spend time with, and eventually I caved in and we began our relationship. As luck would have it, Mehdi secured an internship with a company in Austin that summer, so we spent the entire summer together doing fun Austin things and enjoying our time together.

Pretty soon, summer was ending and full time recruiting started for Mehdi. I went back to China for a month around that time, and so began our first long distance stint. The time difference was stressful, but we always made an effort to call each other every day. Mehdi was insanely stressed - job hunting is stressful enough, but the current business environment made it all the more difficult for him to find a job in the U.S. given how he needed visa sponsorship from an employer to stay after graduation. Our future as a couple was very uncertain, and put a strain on our relationship overall. When I got back to the US and reunited we received the best of news - Mehdi got a full time offer with sponsorship! In DFW!

Our future no longer hazy, we started planning for the future. I officially moved to Dallas the end of October, and we continued our relationship long distance. It was difficult - I was adjusting to working full time, and he was always very busy with school and extracurriculars. However, our commitment to each other ensured that our relationship would always be a top priority for both of us.

Time flew by, and then the pandemic hit. We decided to stay in Dallas, and made occasional trips to Austin to clear out his Austin apartment. The last trip we made to clear out his apartment coincided with UT Austin's graduation, and we decided to get his senior pictures done then as well. The day we ventured out for his senior picture photo shoot was miserable - 110 degrees Fahrenheit with no breeze. I wanted to get into A/C immediately after the photo shoot, but he insisted we meet up with our mutual friend (the same one he mentioned on Hinge) at a nearby park. Grumpy and hangry, I sulked in the car while he tried unsuccessfully to convince me to leave the car to go into the park. He finally bribed me with promises of food after, and we took off. We walked around to a cute gazebo in the center of the park, and I saw a cute picnic laid out. I pointed it out, and the next thing I know he was on one knee proposing to me with our friends surrounding us. I, of course, said yes!!!!

Now we are in Dallas, both working, and we have adopted a cute little senior Pomeranian named Harley. In the words of Michael Scott, "Never, ever, give up". We went through more than our fair share of hardships throughout our relationship, but adversity only makes the heart grow fonder. I am looking forward to spending the rest of my life adopting dogs and playing video games with the kindest, most caring man ever.