The day I met Melissa was August 28, 2013, the first day of grad school at Brooklyn College. Years earlier, I’d stood there on the corner of Flatbush and Nostrand on that date several times before, wondering how many more times I’d find myself there. I was back in a place so familiar, telling myself that this time would be different. This time I wanted to be there.

As I took a seat in a classroom on the third floor of Whitehead Hall, where I’d also been before, it all looked the same. That’s when something different happened – I saw Melissa walk in and across the front of the room. She was one of the first people I noticed. She looked so good and walked with a confidence that would stand out on the first day of class. She was an MFA student, and I was in the MS program. Though we did not interact that day, I knew that I would make that happen.

We had our interactions across the desks in that class. At the end of the semester, most MFA students were going out for drinks off of Eastern Parkway. It was there that we had our first real series of conversations, laughing the whole time. I knew I’d done something right.

Melissa sent me a Facebook friend request that I received as I was parking near my apartment. I parked and accepted it immediately. I sat there and looked at her posts and pictures, of course because I was left so intrigued and wanted to know her better. I can still remember it so well. With that first semester over, I got more from standing on that corner on that day than I ever had before.”- Brendyn Smyth