So many seemingly random events had to align for Tristan and Abby to meet.

Tristan was born and raised in Minnesota, while Abby grew up in Connecticut. After high school, Tristan enlisted in the Marine Corps, beginning six years of service that took him far from home. Meanwhile, Abby headed to Skidmore College to begin her undergraduate studies.

Four years later, Abby was preparing to apply to graduate school, while Tristan was finishing his final deployment and planning his transition out of the Marines. Both stood at major crossroads, unaware that their next decisions would lead them to each other.

As graduation approached, Abby faced a difficult choice: remain close to friends by attending Columbia or head to Cornell for a new adventure. A few months earlier, however, she had impulsively rescued a sled dog named Winter. Winter made the decision clear. Life in a busy city wouldn’t suit her, and so Abby chose Cornell — a decision that unknowingly set the stage for meeting Tristan.

After leaving the Marines, Tristan also decided to return to school. However, without SAT scores or High School Transcripts that was hard. Until he found Syracuse University. That choice would ultimately lead him to Abby.

The two met on Hinge. Anyone who knows Abby can probably guess her first response: she couldn’t understand how they matched when they lived an hour apart and were “obviously” never going to meet. But one random Sunday in October, Abby decided, “Why not?” and invited Tristan to visit her in Ithaca.

While their official anniversary is November 11, in many ways, their story truly began the day they met.