The journey begins in the Spring of 2018 at the University of Texas at Dallas. Mariah, a student at Southern Methodist University, was visiting a high school friend who happened to live just a few doors down from Aaron in the engineering dorm.
That semester, Mariah visited UTD often and quickly became a member of the Computer and Electrical Engineering friend group that Aaron was a part of. The group frequently played ultimate frisbee in the dorm courtyard and hung out
in the common areas. If you ask Aaron, the first time he took notice of Mariah was the first game of ultimate frisbee she participated in. He thought it was so funny how much energy she had and how cute she was chasing after the frisbee
regardless of who had it or who it was being thrown to. That same day, Mariah was also showing off her "party trick" which is pistol squatting. As much as Aaron tried to repeat the action, the results remained the same, he was able to go down
but always struggled to push back up. The first time Mariah took notice of Aaron was when she and her high school friend, Prathyusha were cooking in the UTD dorm kitchen as Aaron got home from his job as a waiter. They caught up for a bit
which was their longest conversation up to that point. She thought he was really cute and asked Prathyusha after he left if he was single and would possibly be interested.
They remained friends for another year as they both got busy and Mariah was not able to visit UTD as much. She came to visit for holiday parties and special occasions. There was one party in early April of 2019 where everybody was having a great time,
Aaron stepped onto the balcony for some fresh air and to his surprise, Mariah joined him. They bonded over rock climbing as both worked at rock climbing gyms at the time. One of their favorite stories came as a result of this conversation. Before returning
to the group, Mariah said, "We should go climbing some time." to which Aaron smoothly responded with, "How can I when I don't have your number?" From this day on, they began talking non-stop.
Their first date occured soon after that get-together. Aaron had to stay late working when he received a text from Mariah who asked if he would like to meet her for dessert after he got off work. They decided to meet up at Sprinkles, a cupcake shop, near
SMU. They talked for hours about everything under the sun and it was just so natural. Unfortunately, Mariah had a prior commitment later that night so their conversation was cut short but as Aaron was walking Mariah to her car, he gave her a hug then made
the bold move to go in for a kiss (which was received well). To this day, this was the second most nervous Aaron has ever been, the most nervous moment occured 3 years later.
In July of 2021, Aaron moved to Indianapolis, IN for a new job opportunity while Mariah stayed in Dallas, TX focusing on school and eventually landing a job at Texas Instruments in Dallas. They have continued to focus on their careers and made it a priority to visit
each other at least once a month. Nine months after Aaron moved to Indianapolis, Mariah flew up to visit him for their 3 year dating anniversary. They celebrated with a day exploring downtown Indianapolis, biking around the canal and visiting Tinker Coffee
(not affiliated with Mariah or her family). They had dinner reservations at a nice steakhouse and planned on going home afterwards to relax and watch a movie. As Mariah opened the door to Aaron's apartment, she was left speechless by the rose petals on the ground
leading to a lit up sign spelling out, "Marry Me." What Mariah did not know was that Aaron had worked with his cousin that lived nearby to set up the spread while they were enjoying dinner. Mariah's answer was a resounding "yes" and the rest is history.