Syd POV:

The summer after my freshman year at Duke, I went on Birthright. One of my friends on the trip spoke a lot about her friend, Alex. I had no idea who he was, but I had learned that he was a comp sci major recently turned pre-med, loved the Yankees, and was a major foodie. The one detail that stuck with me the most was that Alex was the guy with the dad jokes.

Flash forward to the start of sophomore year, I had a Statistics 101 midterm so headed to Perkins Library to study. I ran into the same friend from Birthright in the library, and she was with Alex! As Alex introduced himself, I blurted out, "Oh, you are the guy with the corny dad jokes!"

Apparently this was as good of a conversation starter as any because Alex and I, both with midterms the next day, ended up talking for four hours in the library and neglected studying for our midterms. I ended up failing the midterm, but it was the best thing to happen to me!

The rest is history :)

Alex POV:

My sophomore year at Duke, I was sitting with some friends in the library and Sydney came to sit with us. I did not know her then, but I immediately knew that I wanted to. As the night wore on, all of the people at the table left. I worked up some courage and struck up a conversation. That was at 8pm. At midnight, we parted ways not having opened a book. We then struck up a friendship, or at least Sydney thought it was a friendship. I was a man with a plan. Needless to say, the plan worked!

Syd POV:

We spent the day as tourists in Paris! From eating macarons at Laduree, to going to the top of the Eiffel Tower, to walking the River Seine, and finally eating every baguette in sight, we had such a fun day. The day had already been so special, but I had NO idea what was about to come later that evening. Alex did not seem nervous at all!

Alex knows how much I love sunsets, so he had suggested that we go watch the sunset over the city at Montmarte. We got to the lookout just in time for the sunset. The funny part of this was that everyone had the same idea, so the lookout was FILLED with people. Alex insisted we try to find a quiet spot, but with that many people it was not possible. I still didn't really think much of it and followed him until he landed on a spot. As I turned around, Alex got down on one knee and PROPOSED!

Of course I said, "Yes!"

We then celebrated in true Alex and Syd form at a beautiful dinner overlooking the Eiffel Tower.

Alex POV:

In the movies, the person proposing always has it all figured out. They know exactly where and how they want to do it. I rationalized that they must have also furtively typed into Google “how do you plan a proposal?” We were going to Paris, so it had to be perfect. I concocted a brilliant plan. I was going to propose on the steps of Sacré-Coeur, a beautiful basilica up on a hill in Paris’ Montmartre neighborhood with panoramic views of the city, at sunset. What could be more perfect? I was pretty proud of myself at this point. I played it cool all day. Sydney had no clue anything was up! I casually mentioned that we should go see the sunset up in Montmartre before dinner and she assented, none-the-wiser. We walked up the stairs, came over the hill, and walked into a throng of people. Not only were people everywhere, but it was also cloudy! I couldn’t believe it. All of my careful planning and I had failed to account for a crush of American tourists. We found a quiet alcove away from the crowds. In these important moments, you realize it’s about the person you are with and not about the surroundings. I got down on one knee and asked the biggest question I’ve ever asked of anyone in my entire life, and luckily she said “Yes.”