My Relationship Story

I met Voltaire at Topgolf towards the end of November 2021. We struck up a conversation about our shared love for animals after he asked me to teach him how to swing. At that time, I was oblivious to the signs and considered inviting him to the California Academy of Sciences as just friends. However, what was intended to be a one-hour hangout turned into a full-day adventure. We started by visiting the pier, where he experienced Boudin for the first time. Then we headed to the California Academy of Sciences, where I enthusiastically shared animal facts with him. Our exploration continued to Japantown, followed by a delightful dinner at Marugame. Finally, I dropped him off at his home.

It wasn't until he kissed me at the pier that I realized it was a date. It was a moment of clarity for me. However, the true realization of wanting to commit myself to him came when he drove 10 hours from San Diego to be by my side at Topgolf during my time of mourning over the loss of my rat colony. His selflessness touched me deeply, and I was certain that he was the person I wanted to share my life with.

This led me to ask him out on our second date, which took place at Great America Winterfest, where we shared our first New Year's kiss. I was aware that he had been seeing other people, as he had been transparent about it before. I vividly remember a moment when we were waiting in line for a ride. We were discussing the idea of being exclusive when he jokingly copied and pasted the long version of the message "I'm seeing someone else" to five other people he had been talking to. This lighthearted gesture made me feel warm and elated like nothing else.

After our memorable time at Great America, everything else became history, and our relationship continued to grow.

Let's fast forward to January when our weekends were filled with trips to Los Angeles to spend time with friends who owned a diverse collection of reptiles. It was during these visits that our involvement with Repteria began. Our friends acted as mentors, guiding us along the path of reptile breeding. While our journey has currently slowed down, it hasn't dampened my passion for being a breeder. Right now, my focus is on providing the reptiles with the best possible quality of life and ensuring their overall health.

During this time, I would often stay at Voltaire's place, completing my schoolwork from there. Then, in February, a series of significant events occurred. Firstly, I came out to my parents, aunt, and uncle all in the same week. Additionally, the badminton season resume and I started coaching badminton again at Moreau High School. However, things took a turn when I unfortunately got into a car accident that left me stranded in the middle of a busy intersection for five long hours.

When the accident happened, Voltaire immediately dropped everything he was doing. Keep in mind, he lives in Belmont, across the bay, and had to endure heavy traffic for an hour just to reach me. He stayed by my side until the car issue was resolved. It was during this time that he essentially "moved in." I asked my mom if he could stay with us for a few days as I needed help getting around for doctor appointments, coaching at Moreau, and attending school. She agreed, and from that day on, he slept over, "moved in," and never moved out. Interestingly, my mom even requested him to stay, and she often reaches out to him for help more frequently than she does to me. That's how our relationship grew stronger, and he became an unofficial but integral part of our household.

Around July, I jokingly asked him if he was technically "moved in." Even now, it hasn't been made official, but no one has raised any objections, so I suppose he's considered part of the household!

Fast forward to the present, Voltaire is now officially coaching at Moreau as my assistant technical analysis coach. I swear, the kids adore him even more than they do me. As I reflect on our relationship story, I realize it wasn't a fairy tale from the start; instead, we took our own story and transformed it into a fairy tale. Every time I recount our journey, it fills me with butterflies and reignites my love for the man who has consistently shown me that he is willing to drop everything to come to my rescue, no matter the situation.