I had always been skeptical about the world of 'online dating.' I had tried it a few times before with little success; to me it seemed more like a playground, and less like a place to find my soulmate. I was getting ready to start my first semester of law school and decided to venture into cyberspace one more time, not expecting to find anything serious, but rather, hoping to have distractions from the arduous and taxing world of academia I was about to enter. Everything was going according to plan. I came across a profile that caught my eye, partially because of how different it was from the swath of other profiles I had seen. Unlike the others, this one offered interesting details and was genuine and well-written (which, if you know me, is of utmost importance). He was definitely worth a swipe to the right, when all of the sudden, my eyes beheld a photo of this 'Travis' with pierced ears. 'How could this be?! Well, at least everything else seems great...I guess I'll swipe right.'

For all of the time I spend on the internet, it may come as a surprise that I had never once considered online dating. That night, I was hanging-out at my best friend’s apartment. As single twenty-something men, we spent the evening playing games and listening to music. We eventually opened up ‘Bumble’ on our phones and were (as per the norm) horribly underwhelmed with the prospects in our area. Time passed with each successive left-swipe; none of these women seemed right for me. I needed someone who was intelligent, passionate, driven, and possessed a million other qualities. I was actually fairly hopeless about finding someone who perfectly matched the person I envisioned. That is, until Jovanna’s profile filled my screen. She was absolutely stunning, and her description showed a funny, ambitious, family-oriented woman, and it was written with perfect grammar and spelling; it even included an avocado emoji. I exclaimed: ‘SHE’S PERFECT!’ and eagerly swiped right.

I was running late to this restaurant called "Botika"; a restaurant I'd never been to before. I was looking forward to meeting Travis, though I was also trying to keep my expectations low, given the fact that we had met on a dating app, and past experience had made me cautious. I parked and briskly walked up to the restaurant; he was already there waiting for me (the only time Travis was ever on time). When I entered, I thought I saw him across the room in one of the booths, however I was unsure, because again, I had only seen photos on the app, and did not want to ambush a total stranger. I asked the hostess if she would mind walking me over, and she kindly escorted me to the booth. I sat down across from Travis, and began trying to subtly analyze if he was actually as genuine, smart, and funny in person, as he was in his texts. What I did know, was that I did not want to waste my time or his. I wanted him to know what I was looking for, what I wanted, what I didn't want, and the type of person I was. We discussed everything, including politics and religion, and made it clear neither one of us wanted a fling. In fact, there would be no kissing at the end of the night. Four hours of effortless conversation later, we grabbed some ice cream before Travis had to head to work. He walked me to my car and gave me a hug. One date, and I knew there was something different and worthwhile here. Two weeks of dates in, and I knew I never wanted to be without it.

After nearly two weeks of talking to each other, Jovanna and I had our first date on 09/09/17. I had planned dinner at a chic Peruvian-Asian fusion restaurant, but that wasn’t enough. A park in downtown San Antonio had an outdoor showing of the classic 1990 “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” film planned for that evening; the campy, 90’s action-comedy seemed like it was just the ticket. I knew that Jovanna enjoyed wine, so a few hours before the date, I picked up a couple of bottles and a pair of matching glasses; I had packed up a perfect picnic basket! At the restaurant, later that evening, I sat eagerly in our booth, trying way too hard (and likely failing) to look cool. The hostess escorted Jovanna to the table, and after seeing her beautiful eyes and matching smile, any vestige of coolness within me evaporated instantly. She was even more beautiful than I had anticipated. After we exchanged some light banter and put our order in, I casually let her know what our plan for the evening was. She politely responded that her dad was playing in a tennis tournament, and that she couldn’t stay long. Despite the fun evening that I had planned, and despite her best efforts to establish a plausible exit strategy, we ended up spending nearly four hours talking at the dinner table. This was an absolutely no-holds-barred first-date, and we discussed (in brutal detail) every controversial topic that you’ve been told NOT to discuss on a first date. Maybe that’s a horrible idea for some people, but for us, it was perfect: we found out early on that who we are as individuals aligned with each other extremely well, and I had a blast just being there with her. After dinner, we strolled over to get some ice-cream, and we eat it outside at a picnic table while talking some more. It was nearly midnight by the time we parted for the evening. I ensured that she made it safely back to her car, and I could have sworn that I floated back to my own.

From the moment people found out we were going to Europe together, they felt compelled to voice their opinion that it was the perfect opportunity for Travis to propose. Naturally, I grew jaded of this scenario by the incessant opining, not to mention, I'm not one for crowds and wanted to be proposed to in private. Of course, this is not what happened. Monet is one of my favorite painters, and for years, I had wanted to visit his house and gardens in Giverny. I had been unable to make it happen on previous trips, and this time, I would get to see his breathtaking brush strokes come to life. I had a feeling that our sojourn to Giverny would hold more than inspiration for an impressionist. There was this palpable energy from the moment we met up with my parents and brother at the train station, not to mention Travis had suggested I wear my dress. Once there, our tour guide led us through the beautiful gardens; swarms of tourists relentlessly snapped photographs as if the water, trees, and flowers would be dissolved by turpentine at any second. We ventured on, hardly able to experience the Japanese Bridge.

Our tour ended at Monet's house, and Travis called me over to take a picture by some purple flowers in the side garden. My brother snapped our picture, while my dad held up his iPad. He was recording. "Oh, gosh," I thought. "He's going to do it. But there are people. And, that group of girls is wandering over. They know something's happening. Oh, Travis is saying sweet things. I need to listen and focus on him." Travis turned me towards him and asked the question I already had the answer for. However, he asked it while standing, so I playfully prompted, "You have to do something first." He kneeled, presented the box in my favorite color, and revealed the most unusual and perfect ring I had ever seen. Travis had engineered a ring out of twist ties and a stone from Sue's notebook. You see, a few weeks before the trip, I had told my mom that it didn't matter where Travis proposed to me, because my answer would always be yes. He could propose to me in a parking lot with a twist tie, and I would say yes. Well, on July 4th, 2018, I got my twist tie ring, a non-twist tie ring, and a lovely, thoughtful proposal in Monet's gardens. Giverny did hold more than inspiration. It held new beginnings, magic, and love.

From the beginning, I had an incredibly strong feeling that Jovanna was special. Never before had I conversed with someone who so effortlessly “got me.” Never had I wanted so badly to spend all of my free-time in someone else’s company. Never had I been with someone who brought out the best in me with such ease. By one month in, I knew that I would be with her for the rest of my life, I just had to plan the next steps. Jovanna and her family already had a trip planned to Europe for the summer, and they graciously invited me along. One afternoon, over lunch, her father playfully told me that if I wanted her to come back home, I had better be there to bring her back myself. No one knew that I was already planning to get down on one knee in front of her that summer. Several months later, I asked her parents for permission and thoroughly discussed the engagement with my own. I purchased the ring and hid it for the big trip. We planned a visit to Giverny, France. Jovanna is very much a patron of the arts, and Monet is one of her favorite artists; what better place could I propose than in his own beautiful gardens? There was absolutely no way that I was going to leave a diamond ring in my suitcase, so I safety pinned it to an on-body wallet, under my clothes. For a week, I kept the ring on me, and checked on it likely every minute.

Regarding the actual proposal: I was so confident and prepared; my speech was memorized and everything! Once we were within the gardens, my mind was racing and I couldn’t focus on anything other than the massive crowds, and how they would surely ruin the moment. I planned to propose on the famous “Japanese footbridge,” but it was swamped with tourists. Panicking, I dropped the idea and looked for a calm and quiet spot. I found a pathway lined with ivy and occupied by a lone, purple potted plant. With Jovanna’s family watching (and my family over Whatsapp,) I held her close and recited my speech into her ear. Of course, my legs started quivering uncontrollably and I forgot nearly all of my speech; I remembered maybe four sentences. I even got to the “will you marry me?” part while still standing and without even holding the ring; my brain was mush. Jovanna jokingly mentioned that before she could respond, I would need to actually get on one knee first. Embarrassed, I took out the ring and got on one knee. I asked again, and she was nodding before I even finished. I slid the ring onto her finger with my “super-calm” hands trembling. Later on, we went back to the very same spot, and I read her the speech that I had planned all along.