Through Michelle's perspective: Four years ago, I met Tim at McDonald's. That's the long story short, but there's a lot more to it. :) It was a Wednesday night after our church bible study, and a group of us went to go eat afterwards. We were both new at the time and naturally introduced ourselves to each other. He greeted me enthusiastically, as per his outgoing and vibrant personality. That night, we clicked—I didn’t think much of it at the time, except that I thought we’d be good friends. I was captivated by how friendly and funny he was, and I knew I wanted to learn more about him. Three months later, and after very long email-like text messages, he asked me out on a date! I was nervous, surprised, and excited—I definitely had feelings for Tim that I tried to deny, but I was somehow even more surprised he was interested in me. It was hard for me to sleep that night. Leading up to our first date I almost tried to cancel because I was sick, but on the day of I was feeling better and decided to go. I'm so glad I did, because that night of our first date, we ended up talking for so long that I missed my last BART train and had to take an Uber to where my car was parked instead. We had a lot of good conversations that night, so good that I didn’t want it to end. Six months into our relationship, I got into optometry school in Philadelphia and moved there. We faced our coast to coast long distance for two years, until he moved to NYC—it was easier then, but I can’t tell you how many Chinatown buses we’ve taken between Philly and NYC to see each other since. I truly have God to thank for sustaining our relationship. Now, four years later, we’re engaged! I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with Tim, before God :)

Through Tim's perspective: On February 16, 2019, I asked Michelle to be my wife. I told her we were attending a “friends fashion show party” only to surprise her with a private art gallery filled with 2 ft. by 3ft. long posters. Each poster containing a poem or letter personally written to Michelle. The process went through ~3 months of iterations for me to meticulously craft and design 4 poems and 5 letters, declaring my love and appreciation for Michelle. I wanted this moment to be deeply meaningful for both of us, and if you know Michelle and me, we are not strangers to galleries. Michelle and I have had a long history with writing each other letters. She is the type of person who eagerly opens and deeply appreciates a well-chosen card. She will cry, laugh, or let out a loud “aww” to let you know how much she has loved what you have written. However, unlike any other letter I’ve written to Michelle, the letters on our proposal day were going to be displayed. Just as a proposal is a public declaration of one’s love, these letters were going to be exactly that. After getting Michelle to dress up for this proposed “fashion show party” I walked her through the gallery, I can’t say for sure what her initial feelings were. But I can say that as soon I read the first poster out-loud she knew exactly what was happening. I remember looking in her eyes, seeing a black teardrop (clouded from her mascara) drip from her face, followed by chills down my spine. An unforgettable moment where we shared a complex telepathic exchange of “It’s happening, this is it, I love you.” We continued down each of the posters until we finally approached the last poem. As I read the last few words of the poem “My future, and my wife” I got down on one knee, grabbed the ring from my pocket and smiled.