The constant and consistent disconnect between expectations and reality has always fascinated me. As we go through life and imagine how our major events will unfold, we often find that they come up just a bit short.

These expectations may stem from a variety of social influences or simply a lack of rational awareness but of course this means very little when feeling the disappointment that comes with it. However just because an event doesn’t meet a preconceived expectation doesn’t mean the reality can’t be even better.

The story of how Lauren and I met doesn’t begin with us finding each other across a crowded room or our hands coming together while grabbing the same suitcase off an airport baggage carousel. It’s actually much more simple than anything that could’ve been dreamt which makes it that much special and more importantly, real.

As it turns out, we will inevitably spend about a quarter of our lives receiving our formal education so it makes it much more fitting that a university classroom is the setting of this story. Both Lauren and I had completely different educational backgrounds leading to the day we met with her beginning her collegiate journey at UNL as a bright eyed, positively optimist pursing a degree in engineering and myself as an incredibly ignorant and full of hope “soon to be” physician  at Creighton. Each educational path we embraced is as unique as those who chose it and with each ending being a bit different than what we originally had in mind.

Lauren ended up as an accounting major and I as a health administration and policy major but even though our original paths may have been slightly different, they both led us to the same place: UNO, to pursue a Masters in Business Administration. It was on Monday, August 26, 2013 when I walked into the IT class when I saw her sitting in the front row wearing a white long sleeved shirt and black pin striped pants, casually playing sudoku on her phone prior to the start of class obviously trying her best to stay coy as I walked in.

As class began, our professor went through the obligatory “ice breaker” activity which consisted of name, occupation, area of study and “weird” fact so when it was time to form groups that would last the entire semester, everybody could at least know everybody’s name. As my group was beginning to form around me as I had already knew several students from previous classes, our group ended up one member short and as it just so happens, there was one mesmerizing and incredibly beautiful girl sitting alone right in front of and me and then the words came out: “Lauren, would you like to be a part of our group?” and she responding with a resounding “Sure!”

Most people expect to find the love of their life in the most romantic of ways and can be disappointed when reality doesn’t meet their expectations but in all honesty, I find that reality is always better because it is, in fact, real and no longer a fantasy.

What comes next, isn’t an instant romance or a quick jump into dating. It’s more or less the beginning of something so brilliantly wonderful and remarkably frustrating (in the beginning for me at least) that nothing previous can compare, but more on that later.

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