Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, two medical students were put together at a team-based learning table during orientation. It was August 2021. The dean of the medical school at the time said, “Look left, look right. Chances are that some of you will end up marrying the people you’re sitting next to.” Little did we know that we would be those people.

We didn’t speak to each other that day. Rather, our first real interaction came the next Sunday. Sophia, always the proactive one, texted in the Christian fellowship group chat about church recommendations. Will, always the helpful classmate, reached out and invited her to come along with him and his roommate to visit a church. That weekend, the three of them went to church together and had fun at the Dallas Museum of Art. Sophia was thoroughly impressed by Will’s knowledge of random history facts. The next few months, Will and Sophia became close friends as they studied together. It helped that they lived in the same building. Will and Sophia were also both part of Southwestern Christian Fellowship, eventually serving on the same leadership team and helping put on many fun events.

Will always felt comfortable around Sophia, but could not explain why. Sophia enjoyed hanging out with Will as they could have deep conversations but also laugh together. A year and a half passed by, and Will was still trying to conceal his thoughts and feelings from himself. He was trying to convince himself that he would wait until after he graduated medical school to start dating. Fortunately God had other plans. One evening, as Will met with Stan and Karen Kwan for mentorship, Stan asked Will if there was anybody in the class he had a crush on. Inside, deep inside, Will knew the answer, but he said that there was no one in particular. Next week, Stan asked the same question again. Will knew that he could no longer hide what was brewing inside of him. He realized that he had been growing fond of Sophia over the past year and a half. Will prayed about it for some time, and eventually asked Sophia out on 10/16/22. Sophia was not expecting it, so said “sure” but with no hesitation because she already knew him as a good friend.

The next couple of months were full of personal, relational and spiritual growth as they learned more about each other and themselves. They went on many fun dates as well as achieved milestones such as the Step 1 exam together. Sophia gradually grew in love for Will and became more and more attracted to his thoughtfulness, servant heart, care for people, and curiosity for truth. Will thought that Sophia was the most patient, kind, understanding, forgiving, loving, and caring person ever. He saw the love of God in every single interaction that she had with other people. Most of all, they both felt like they could be their true authentic selves with one another. Will proposed to Sophia on New Year’s Eve 2023 and promised Sophia that he would always love, cherish, and feed her great food. Sophia couldn’t be more excited to marry the love of her life (and eat his great cooking.)