To tell our story chronologically, we would need to start in 2013 and review how we went from dorm mates, to house mates, to best friends, to a relationship that was initiated on May 15, 2016. We would review how we graduated with each other; how we survived 2 years of cross-country long-distance when Dana was in North Carolina (2017-2019); how we supported each other in school (2019-2022); how we did another 2 years of long-distance as Matt started his career (2022-2024); how we moved to Houston together (2024-2025); and how we moved back to San Diego a year later (2025).

To tell our story from dual perspectives, we would start with the fact that Dana is emotional and Matt is analytical. Matt is the type of person that will calculate the best route forward, follow the steps, and minimize costs while maximizing the benefits. Dana is the type of person who will experiment with every route, throw things on the wall until they stick, and deal with the consequences as they come. Dana thinks "Everything matters!" and Matt thinks "Nothing really matters." Matt can go days (or years) without talking to someone and still consider them close. Dana will call her loved ones as much as she can. Dana can chit-chat for hours and Matt has a two hour timer on chit-chatting tolerance unless it is about golf. Matt is minimalist. Dana is a maximalist. Dana over works. Matt under works. But our differences come together in amazing ways for us. Matt calms Dana down when she is too stressed and Dana stresses Matt out when he is too calm. Dana will encourage Matt to connect to his people, and Matt will encourage Dana to take care of herself more. We combine to form intentional and experimental approaches to life problems, and rely on the other's perspective to continue growing and have fun wherever we are.

To tell our story in snapshots, we would acknowledge that what started as something casual, fun, and without expectations turned into something we couldn’t imagine life without. We are our small moments more than our big ones. We are those evenings where we'd both be on the phone with each other for 5 hours during our long-distance years. We are cooking for each other after hard days. We are learning something new like surfing or jiu jitsu. We are our arguments, our tense moments, and our moments of letting the other down--just as we are our moments of understanding each other, resolving issues, and being better for one another every day. We are certainly those moments in board games where the competition is fierce between us---just as we are those moments where we have each other's back no matter what life has in store. We are our adventures, our time with friends and family, and our future pathways. We are a thousand snapshots and excited to collect millions more.

Thank you to all of our loved ones for being a part of our story in our past, present, and future.