In spring of 2019, I was playing badminton in Shawn and Rebecca Gregory’s backyard with a group of ORGTeers (those in our outdoor program, Outdoor Recreation Georgia Tech). It was neck and neck, and with the birdie launched to my side, I leapt into the air to deliver a powerful blow and the game winning shot. My triumph turned to horror when of delivering victory, it smacked a beautiful woman square in the face.

I knew of Alexandra, but we had never formally met until that moment. As I piled on apologies, she smiled assured me that it was no problem at all. I couldn’t help but hope we’d talk again, and I almost landed the opportunity to drive her home but ended up taking a friend.

Fast forward to the fall- I hadn’t seen Alexandra again, but found out she would be moving into our ORGT house. This house consisted of 8 men, and she would be changing that to 7 and 1. I was thrilled of course, as I wanted to get to know this captivating woman. I knew I’d have to get out ahead of the other guys and bring my a game.

Fortunately my chance came immediately- I was the first moved into the house in the spring and was cleaning the fridge when Lex arrived, fresh out of a hunting trip in Alaska which followed several months in south east Asia. After helping her to her room, instead of crashing after a long day of travel, she came down to help me clean the kitchen which she had obviously not contributed to dirtying. We got to talking and let me tell you, quickly I knew I was incredibly lucky to have a semester with her.

Long hours of talking in the house turned to cooking together, unofficial dates to Amelie’s, and then real dates before February was out. The rest is history as they say- I moved to Colorado and Lex followed, where we have started our own little family together by adopting our puppy coquito. I proposed in Paris in April of 2024 and it has truly been the best year of my life. My heart bursts with love for this woman and I’m proud to share that with the world! Anyways I didn’t read the prompt for this story so here’s what you get. Love you all and see you soon!