How We Met
Amir and I first met in December 2010 while we were both in dental school at UCLA. I was the social chair for my class and I was planning a school-wide event, for which everyone needed to purchase a ticket. Amir had missed the scheduled ticket sales due to being out of town for residency interviews, so he emailed me to set up a time to meet up to purchase a ticket.
We decided to meet up in the library, as it was finals week. I was doing some last-minute cramming for my pediatric dentistry final when Amir appeared. Amir was 2 years ahead of me in dental school, so our paths had never crossed until this moment. I figured we would quickly make the exchange and go our separate ways, however, I was instantly captivated by Amir’s infectious personality. We were chatting and joking with each other like we had known each other for years. Right away, I knew there was something very special about him! While I should have been worried about my test, I found myself not wanting to say goodbye to him. We had each other’s phone numbers because we had to meet up for the ticket exchange, so we continued to text throughout the entire finals week. Even though I was stressed and running on fumes from lack of sleep (I had 14 final exams that week!), I couldn’t stop thinking about Amir.
At the end of the week, we had our annual school holiday party to celebrate the end of the term before everyone left for winter break. Amir and I hung out during the entire party and at the end of the night we had our first kiss!
The next morning I left for my hometown of Pittsburgh, PA and Amir departed for his hometown of San Francisco, CA. During the 3 week break, we were on the phone with each other non-stop. When I got back to Los Angeles, Amir picked me up from the airport and the relationship took off!
Despite the exciting beginning, our path to today has definitely not been easy! 6 months after our relationship began, Amir graduated from dental school and began his 6 year residency program for oral and maxillofacial surgery in San Francisco (which included 2.5 years of medical school in Sacramento). The next 2 years, we would fly back and forth between LA and SF to see each other. In 2013, Katy graduated from UCLA and moved home to Pittsburgh to start her 2 year residency program for pediatric dentistry. In case you lost track, that’s 4 total years of being long-distance!! Needless to say, it was very challenging living apart for so long and we definitely racked up a lot of frequent flyer miles!
Finally, in 2015, Katy moved to San Francisco and we’ve been together in the Bay Area since!
how they asked
In May 2018, Amir and I went on a trip to Portugal and Spain with our parents. Since I’m from Pittsburgh and Amir is from the Bay Area, our parents have only met a few times, so it was a great opportunity for us to all spend some time together.
At the time, we had been dating for 7.5 years, so I was hoping that Amir wouldn’t blow this prime opportunity to propose!
On May 5, 2018, we were in Seville, Spain. We spent the morning exploring the breathtaking Alcazar palace with our parents. The whole time I couldn’t help but notice how romantic a city Seville was! That afternoon, Amir told me that he wanted to have a little date with just the 2 of us. We went to the famous Plaza de España where we road boats on the canal. Afterward, we walked around the plaza and ended up on one of the bridges over the canal.
After sharing a lot of sweet sentiments and reminiscing on our crazy path to get to this point, Amir got down on one knee and proposed! Of course, I said yes! He also surprised me by having some local photographers capture the moment, which was priceless! Our parents, who knew this would be happening, arrived soon afterward to celebrate at the beautiful Hotel Alfonso!
Needless to say, Seville, Spain will always have a very special place in our hearts! We are both so excited to start this next chapter in our lives!