It all started when I moved to California and decided to give Tinder a try. One day, as I scrolled through profiles, I came across Christian. He had that effortless, 'I know who I am' energy, and before I even read a word of his profile, I thought, Okay, interesting.

Then I actually read it.

His profile was hilarious—self-deprecating in just the right way, full of witty one-liners that had me laughing out loud. It was clear he didn’t take himself too seriously, but he was smart, quick, and undeniably my kind of weird.

We matched, started talking, and the banter was instant. The kind where neither of us had to fake a personality or try too hard—

it just worked.

When we finally met in person, the first thing I noticed was his confidence. He had this easy, grounded presence, like someone who knew exactly how to own a moment without demanding attention. And, okay—yes, the beard and the eyes definitely didn’t hurt.

As we talked, it became obvious: he was funny, he was sharp, and he was absolutely the kind of person I wanted in my life.

Of course, Christian had a much simpler explanation for what drew him to me:

"You were hot."

Over time, we realized that while we’re very different in a lot of ways, there’s one thing that has always kept us connected—we are, at our core, just two massive nerds. Whether it’s assembling arguments over DC and Marvel, venturing through fantasy books, or rehashing the saga of Star Wars versus Lord of the Rings, our shared love for all things nerdy wasn’t just something fun—it was what kept us laughing, talking, and moving forward, even in the hardest moments.

And somewhere along the way, as the months and years passed, we stopped feeling like two separate people—we just became "us."