I remember when I saw Raj for the first time on Market Street in San Francisco, I was on my way to a cultural dance show with friends and I did not expect my path to be crossed with someone like Raj. His boyish smile reached all the way to his eyes; the type of smile that made me want to smile back.

With time to kill, we all decided to head over to a nearby bar before the show. I quickly noticed how easy going and friendly Raj was! The type of guy who was down to do anything! Someone like me who needs things planned out, found him super refreshing.

My interest was sparked! We decided to keep the evening going by grabbing some food...needless to say I never made it to the cultural dance show that night. Little did I know then that it was totally worth missing!

From that day on, we went to many dinners and outings. With every moment, I noticed wonderful little things about Raj, I realized that life was a lot sweeter with Raj in it! Looking back, our paths randomly crossed in such a way that would suggest that it wasn't random at all - it was meant to be…

Dear Raj,

"I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you." -Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

Love,

Shika

The first time I met Shika was on Market street in San Francisco. What first struck me about her was her smile and the excitement in her eyes. I secretly thought to myself, "Wow, her boyfriend is one lucky guy." But lucky for me, she was single and even more luckily she would eventually give me a shot.

We started out as friends and it grew into more. She'd always do things that made everyone around her smile, sometimes unknowingly. Not only does she make me smile, but she expands my horizons. When we first met, the only thing I had read in the last year had something to with work or politics. She introduced me to some of her favorite authors and I ended up reading The Alchemist at her suggestion. When we weren't talking about pizza, we'd be talking about books, family, and places we'd want to travel.

Since meeting her, I had an instant crush, but somehow convinced myself that I had already missed my chance. But as luck would have it, one night we were supposed to get dinner with friends but they had to cancel. And there was my chance - I called her to see if she'd still like to get dinner, and she said of course! (She says it was because she wanted to see me, but my hunch? The place might have had a dish consisting of bread with some cheese on it…)

I tried to downplay the two-hour drive time by telling her there wasn't even any traffic (Confession: It was Bay Area rush hour). But luck swooped in again! On the way, she called to tell me that she needed another hour to get ready, saving me from having to tell her I was going to be an hour late. There's some disagreement over when our first date was, but I always consider this night to be it. Just like the night we first met, this night happened by chance and every day since I've been thankful that it did.