This is my brother, John and his fiancée Alicia. I asked John to write their story from his perspective, because I knew he would deliver something great. What he wrote is so…John. Honest, no frills and just plain real.

I was asked to write about first meeting Alicia, but our meeting was frankly pretty uneventful. She was a beautiful girl with a bob-like haircut and green eyes that are hard not to double take at when you first see them. I was a square jawed, skinny Chinese kid with bad emo-ish hair longer than hers. We bonded over music, the zoo and her disbelief when I told her that the good animals get put away early in the afternoon. It was obvious to me at least that we had enough in common to get to a first date.

So far this sounds so obvious and boring. Everyone wants to have a great story to tell their kids and friends, but to be perfectly honest our relationship has not been characterized by crescendos that end in romantic peaks or riveting drama that captivate listeners. It has been the passage of metamorphosing understanding and unending determination that this truly felt right for both of us. That we had found something always worth fighting for and coming back to.

The story ends that we are 5 years older, but lifetimes richer than we were on that fateful day in San Diego. I look forward to all my days with her and promise that she will get that kitty she has been dreaming about for so long.