Will and I met sophomore year in college through a mutual friend of ours who was in a co-ed business organization I was part of, as well as Will's fraternity. Will and I were both finance majors at McCombs, so we were likely in multiple classes together, but the first memory I have of meeting him was studying in everyone's favorite place, Reliant. Our mutual friend, Chase, my friend Becky, and I were studying in a room and Will came by for a bit before an accounting exam. We would briefly see each other over the next few years, and a few of us went over to Will's apartment one time, which was a block away from mine. Our junior year, we were in the same business law class and he messaged me on Facebook to ask for my notes, which I so kindly lent to him.
During the fall of our senior year a group of us were meeting at Cain & Abel's (if you know, you know), and going out as a big group all the time that year because #senioritis. One night on 6th street, I went up to our friend Chase and asked him if Will was single. He was, and I remember that night that I made the first move and went up to talk to Will at the classy bar we were at, Buckshot. After 6th that night, we hung out with a big group at the KA house just a block behind my apartments where I would soon spend so much of my last year in college. Will picked me up the next morning and we had our first date at 24 Diner, an Austin classic that we go back to together every time we are back in the city. We joke that Will apparently remembers wearing burnt orange basketball shorts and a red shirt, which completely clashed, and I don't remember that at all.
When Will dropped me off after breakfast, we sat in front of my apartment for 30 minutes to an hour talking about all of our favorite bands. We had so much in common in terms of music taste, and that was the first thing I loved about him. We spent the rest of senior year checking off a list of places to go on our bucket list, going to concerts, and eating at over 50 new restaurants in Austin. That senior year we fell in love, and I'm so grateful for Buckshots on dirty 6th for helping facilitate it!
When Emma and I first met, I was studying with a group of (at the time) random people and didn’t end up staying too long. They all knew each other well and I had one connection to the group at the time, Chase. It was pretty short, but I remember thinking she was really pretty. We had a few other random instances throughout school where our paths would cross, but never for very significant or long periods of time. Some of my friends, including Ankit and Chase, were part of the coed business organization that Emma was part of as well. Eventually, we had a business law class together and I asked her for notes that I had missed at times since that class was at 8 or 9 am on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. These initial moments created sparks that would later be the beginning of our relationship. Our senior year, we were out on 6th street with friends and I remember Emma specifically asking of her friends whether I was single, she came up to talk to me and while I don’t remember too much more of how that night went, I remember that her eyes were extremely beautiful and they drew me to her. I also remember on our way back that night that we made out in the back of a taxi (no Uber?) with Sean sitting directly to our side. At the end of the ride, I distinctly remember him sarcastically saying, “Well that was a fun ride!”
Given that Emma lived only only a few minutes walk away, we decided we’d get breakfast the next morning (what would become our first date). Our first date, I showed up to pick her up in a red shirt and burnt orange shorts... I must’ve been pretty hungover to not notice how weird that looked. We had a great meal and when I took her home, we probably spent another hour or so just sitting outside her apartment talking about music. We had similar taste and music would eventually become a very central part to our relationship. Some of our first dates included, Weezer, Cold War Kids (w/ Leon Bridges opening), and Vance Joy. We continued to casual date through that fall until we made it “official” during our final semester at UT. We created a bucket list together of places we wanted to go and restaurants to try so that we made the most of this last
Neither of us knew for certain that we’d end up in the same city. I initially would be going back to Houston for law school and she was going to Dallas for consulting. When I eventually got into SMU, I was lucky and excited not only to be going to one of the best law schools in Texas, but that we would then be close.
I think back now to when we fell in love and I think the first moments we really looked at each other in the eyes was where everything just felt natural. While I don’t believe that you just have “love at first sight,” and I think relationships require work, focus, and dedication to one another, I can say her eyes were definitely the closest thing for me.