I first met Ashish on August 6, 2018. It was our long-awaited White Coat Ceremony before starting med school. If you know me, you know small talk isn’t necessarily my strongest suit, but nonetheless, I gave it a try. We had pre-assigned seating. Ashish and I were seated next to each other. I left the event learning he was from NJ and went to school in Pittsburgh. That was as far as my small talk skills took me.

I spent the summer of 2019 in Switzerland doing an internship at the WHO. In the day and age of social media, this news got to Ashish, who has a keen interest in travel and public health. As we started our second year, as would any other people our age, we met at the club. But our version... the club fair in our med school lobby. I was at a table promoting my interest group, and there came Ashish with the perfect conversation hook. And so we have the start of our relationship.

Then came the pandemic in 2020. Zoom and FaceTime became our new norm as we learned to celebrate milestones over a screen. Ashish spent an extra year to complete an MPH. I graduated in 2022 and moved to Memphis, TN for residency. One year later Ashish graduated and moved to NY for residency. Despite this, we remained committed to each other.

The time had come when I started dropping “subtle” hints regarding our future. Again, if you know me, you know my version of subtlety. Nothing screams “propose already” like a wedding venue contract.

On February 10, 2024, Ashish proposed to me in NY. He had it planned to a tee. Some said “wow he knows you so well”, I like to think of it more as “he’s great at following directions”. Semantics, right? In all seriousness, the proposal was perfect, and more than I could have asked for. Fast forward a few months, and we are so excited to celebrate our wedding with all of you!