Jessica Lai & Josh Espinosa - Anteater Love Stories
āIn the winter quarter of 2007, as a second-year introvert on a mission, I joined the American Marketing Association (AMA) to focus on my future, not to meet a partner.Ā
Arriving early to each weekly meeting, I had a routine; I claimed my preferred seat in the spacious lecture halls (usually in the middle of the room, but a few seats inside of the aisle seat) and completed my Chinese homework. So, needless to say, when an unfamiliar third-year named Josh shyly sat a seat diagonally behind me (in an otherwise empty hall ā c'mon who does that) and timidly engaged in conversation, I was less than thrilled. To every question he had, I met it with a curt response and minimal eye contact as I attempted to finish my homework.Ā
But much to my dismay, he was persistent and continued on until the start of the meeting, and continued for many meetings after that.
To be candid, at the time, I was annoyed ā I was an unremarkable nerd (and still am) who was desperate to finish homework rather than socialize. But by summer, I realized he was much wiser than I in seeing what the future would have in store for us.Ā
Thanks to a combination of things: becoming AMA interns, the AMA executive board "coincidentally" pairing us up throughout the year, our summer internships around the corner from one another, our friends, and of course, Josh having a car and me not having oneā¦our relationship blossomed. By summer of 2007, we were dating.
Since then, after many uncertainties, such as graduating different years and dating long distance (from opposite ends of California, to opposite coasts of the country), 10 years later, Josh and I are happily engaged and living together in Connecticut where he works for Tumblr, and I work for a licensee of Stanley Black & Decker. And the traits that once made our first meeting such an effort, we have grown to love: he embraces my introversion and (often intense) focus, and I, his extroversion and bright outlook on lifeāa perfect complement to one another.
What I learned was that love, despite how we often imagine its conception to be magical and immediate, can very well plant its roots, and unexpectedly sprout with tenacity. For me, I would never have imagined that first strained, superficial conversation to lead to something so amazing. Forever grateful and still in awe, I often ask Josh why he continued to give me a chance, but even heās not quite sure and finds it odd since he was typically a shy, reserved guy wary of vulnerability. Call it destiny, a chemical reaction in the brain, or pure luckā¦whatever it is, Iāll take it and treat this Valentineās Day as a day to appreciate the friends, peers, and the campus that helped this unforeseen UCI love bloom.ā
-- Jessica Lai via email
