I remember the first time seeing Jesse - a new face at the school - and thinking... "dang, he looks like he's good at math." We had a lot of the same classes throughout high school, one in particular being gr. 11 law. We were in the same mock trial and he claims he "destroyed" my witness testimony as a cross examiner. I do not recall that specific memory, but I graciously let him believe that to this day. We were classmates but became friends when we both went to UofTears for undergrad where we spent a lot of time studying together and just hanging out. It was during this time I learned that Jesse was not only good at math, but also soo kind and genuine. We started a relationship but it didn't work out at that time in our lives. Fast forward a few years and we reconnected out of the blue during COVID. Oh, the irony of rekindling a friendship during an isolated and disconnected time, but man did it feel special. That feeling of how comfortable and enjoyable it was with him is something I still feel to this day. How this man can make my heart flutter yet so peaceful is a mystery I look forward to solve for the rest of my life. As Phoebe from Friends would say, Jesse is my lobster, thus we found our way back to each others' lives... and this time for ~*f o r e v e r *~

The first time I met Sally Sumin You was during Grade 10 French class. She seemed like a very studious, hard-working, and detail-oriented student. But to my surprise, she left both her Math and Science textbooks behind (probably to give me the opportunity to return them to her right?). So, of course, I had to return those books to their rightful owner. This was the first time I spoke with Sally, and despite her always saying that was the defining moment when I "fell in love with her," it is a bit far from the truth. However, I did remember thinking she was quite pretty and feeling quite happy when she mumbled, "thank you."

Our love story actually started near the end of high school when I found out that she was also attending the University of Toronto for Life Sciences. During our time together, I quickly fell in "love" through the times we spent in class, eating, and studying late at night together. And also probably because she was "flirting" with me all the time - drawing smiley faces on my hands, having me teach her mandarin, resting her head on my shoulders when she was sick and falling asleep during class and slapping my shoulders when she's laughing uncontrollably. While the entire campus at U of T knew that I was interested in her, she supposedly had "no clue" despite what everyone told her. Near the end of summer of 2nd year (after two years of fierce pursuit), we started a relationship that was a first for both of us. While it was short-lived, it was pure and memorable.

Around the third wave of COVID, after returning to Toronto from Ottawa, we reconnected over Facebook messenger after hearing she was leaving to the States soon. We somehow ended up driving to Sandbanks, and while watching the sunset by the water, we reconciled everything that happened back in undergrad and over the years. It was a bittersweet moment as it felt like this was the last time I would see her, given how difficult it was to remain just "friends" and with her leaving for the States. But maybe through God's plan for letting us reconnect, reconcile, and love, we decided to give this relationship a second try. And oh boy... was it an exhilarating rollercoaster ride, from tears of sadness to tears of joy - it was definitely greater than at UofTears. But over the last three years, being with Sally has taught me so much about love, about sacrifice, about patience, humility, and gentleness. While I am far from being perfect, thank you for loving me regardless. Thank you for fighting for this relationship together for the last 3 years and choosing to continue to love. As we love, I think we better understand God's heart for us as well. Thank you, God, Sally's parents, and my parents, for giving us life, bringing us together, and giving us the opportunity to witness our marriage and love come to fruition. I love you.