It all started Friday, December 14, 2012 - two days before her 19th birthday. Jazmyne had finished celebrating her birthday in downtown Philly and wanted to continue the celebrations with her friends. At a party, Jamal had seen this beautiful lady in a white patterned dress, walked up to her, and asked her to dance with him. Overwhelmed, Jazmyne abruptly turned him down.  But that didn't stop their love story.   The two went their separate ways for the winter break, only to return to a pleasant surprise at the start of the spring semester. That next semester (and the next three semesters), Jazmyne and Jamal had a class together.  The two locked eyes for the first time since that awkward encounter in December. Jazmyne walked into Spanish class and noticed a handsome young man sitting in the exact middle seat of the class. “Oh crap,” she said, realizing it was the same handsome young man she had denied a dance to just a few weeks earlier.  Throughout their time together at Penn and while writing papers and studying together, Jazmyne and Jamal’s friendship and love grew.   They became best friends, spending time together most days of the week. Jazmyne would let Jamal nap on the blowup mattress in her oversized freshman dorm, help him pass his classes, and cook delicious spaghetti dinners. Jamal would help Jazmyne carry cases of water and toilet paper from the local grocery store, bring her bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches, and provide the manual labor for her architecture models. Jazmyne and Jamal agree that their first “date” was on a beautiful sunny fall day and included a nice walk around campus, picking up Crown Fried Chicken to eat for dinner on tables outside of Jamal’s dorm. Jamal taught Jazmyne how to eat sunflower seeds.   On February 13, 2015, Jamal decided to ask Jazmyne out. Even though Jamal had everything planned out, it did not go as expected. That night, a Friday, was the first night of the Ivy League back-to-back games. Jamal had planned to treat Jazmyne to a nice dinner at Chili’s (haha), not realizing that the local Chili’s was closed…for good. Then he pivoted and decided to take her to Distrito for a nice dinner. Because Jamal’s film session with his team went longer than anticipated, Distrito was about to close and was no longer accepting customers. So, as a last resort, Jamal and Jazmyne walk across the street to Papa John’s and order a large pizza. Frustrated and embarrassed with how the night went, Jamal decided not to ask Jazmyne out that night. The next night after the second game of the doubleheader, Jamal went over to Jazmyne’s apartment, not wanting to wait any longer, and asked her to be his girlfriend. She said yes, and the two dated for the rest of college, continuing to celebrate their anniversaries with ceremonial pizza (“pizzaversary,” as they like to call it!).   In 2016, Jazmyne and Jamal graduated from Penn. Jamal headed to New York to get his Masters's in Public Health, and Jazmyne went to DC to work for an interior design and architecture firm. The couple continued their long-distance relationship until Jamal graduated in 2018 and moved to DC. Their love grew as they attended church together, participated in fun activities like half-marathons and cooking classes, and traveled to various cities and countries.   On October 11, 2020, after knowing each other for almost ten years and dating for 5.5 years, their relationship took another step forward as Jamal proposed to Jazmyne on the waterfront of the DC Navy Yard at 7:30 am. That day, Jazmyne SAID YES to Jamal, beginning this next phase of their life together. A few years later, they're finally excited to continue building their love story with the love and support of their community. [xx - shout out to Jamal for penning our story]