How We Met
Andrew and I met my first week of college at Michigan State University during our dorm’s “open door night” on our floor. Open door night consists of the girls’ side of the hall going to the boys’ side to meet people and vice versa. My roommate (and BFF) and I went to meet the boys and see if anyone would be interested in tailgating with us before the football game that Saturday. We approached a room where a few guys were playing videogames, and I saw a handsome guy with the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen. My breath was momentarily taken away; however, it quickly returned when we introduced ourselves and asked about tailgating, to which Andrew somewhat coldly replied, “Nah, my girlfriend wouldn’t like that.” I remember thinking he was kind of a jerk, and that that was a weird response given we were just looking for friends to hang out with.
As my freshman year (and Andrew’s sophomore year) went on, I began to see sides of Andrew that made me reconsider my initial impressions of him. We became friends and shared the same friend group, which mostly consisted of other people on our floor/in our dorm. We spent most weekends together, and I would frequently go to the boys’ side of the hall to hang out with Andrew and his friends. Over time, I realized there were feelings between us, but we dealt with a few bumps in the road along the way as I was pretty hung up on another guy, and he was getting out of a long-term relationship. Halfway through my sophomore year, we were both in a solid place to make it official, and Andrew became my first “real” boyfriend.
When we first started dating, I remember thinking I’d be surprised if the relationship lasted more than a few months. We were both so young, and I thought the chances of my first relationship ending up as “the one” were pretty slim. Well, fast forward to almost NINE years later, finishing undergrad, two dogs, moves to multiple cities (including two cross-country moves), traveling all over the world, and supporting each other through graduate studies, he has officially become “the one.”
How They Asked
My family and Andrew’s family are pretty close, and we occasionally plan dinners, vacations, etc. together. My mom and Andrew’s mom had talked about getting everyone together to go to a Michigan State football game in October, and Andrew and I thought that would be a great way to celebrate his birthday that was also that weekend. On top of that, my brother moved to East Lansing (where MSU is) to begin his medical residency, and he and his wife had recently bought a house. We planned to do a combined housewarming party/tailgate before heading to the game.
Before going to my brother’s, Andrew told me we had to pick his little brother up at his dorm, which happens to be the same dorm where we met. He said he wanted to get a quick picture in front of our dorm together and then walk to my brother’s, to which I vehemently objected because it was a long walk, and I wanted to see our friends and family as soon as possible. I was pretty difficult for the majority of the drive and repeatedly asked Andrew’s sister to drop me off at my brother’s. I thought it was odd that Andrew was being so persistent about taking a picture in front of our dorm, but brushed it off as we were there to celebrate Andrew’s birthday and my brother’s new house. We had also recently discussed waiting to get engaged, so a proposal wasn’t on my radar.
We pulled up to the dorm and I quickly jumped out of the car to get the picture over with. Andrew was taking some time “getting a different lens” for his camera, and I was becoming even more impatient. Andrew’s brother snapped a couple of pics of us, and I turned to walk back towards the car but Andrew stopped me. He had a really weird look on his face and I thought something was wrong. It took me a few seconds to understand what was happening, and once I realized I was in shock. He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him, and all I could do was stare at him. Eventually, I somewhat got it together to hug him and try on the ring. I couldn’t talk the entire way to my brother’s house – I was seriously so surprised.
When I walked into his house, our friends and both of our families were there to celebrate the “housewarming party,” which was really our engagement party! Our friends and family went above and beyond to make it special, and the room was full of pictures of Andrew and me from the past ten years. Andrew even had my dad drive down from Northern Michigan to be there to celebrate! It was so special to get engaged in the place where we met, and it’s a weekend I will never forget.
As it turns out, Andrew had a completely different proposal planned at the Beaumont Tower on campus, where legend has it that in order to be a “true Spartan” and ensure you marry your sweetheart, you must kiss in the shadow of the tower. Because I was being extremely difficult, he had to opt for plan B in front of our dorm. So, note for soon-to-be engaged ladies, don’t be like me and try to go with the flow! :)
