Jennifer and Raj's Story
Raj is class of '84 and I noticed him in my freshman year. But we didn't actually talk until the second year. We were hanging out with the group of friends and I already had a boyfriend who was a bit disengaged. Every time I went into the cafeteria I looked for Raj because we would have excellent conversations and debates.
Once while the group of us was walking back from Capitol to Gallaudet at 2 am and throwing a frisbee as we walked, I tripped and fell. I ended up with a bloody knee and Raj was the one who stopped to check on me and help me up. My boyfriend was laughing at me and walking away. Fast forward to the holidays and I came back to find my boyfriend totally dissing me, so I broke up with him on the spot.
Fast forward to 4 months later on April 11, 1981, Raj said he was gonna put a spell on me. Immediately we were both 'washed' in this energy. I freaked out and walked out of the dorm. Raj followed and then asked me to go out with him. But I was skittish because I really liked him as a close friend and was afraid of losing his friendship if ever we were to break up. He promised we would stay friends if ever we broke up. The next night after dinner, he asked me to go with him for a walk around Gallaudet campus, but with a catch: blindfolded.
I did, and then after about fifteen minutes of walking, we switched. Talk about trust-building! We celebrated our 39th wedding anniversary on January 16, 2022 and we have five beautiful CODAs and soon will have nine GODAs.