The New University collected reader submissions in the month leading up to Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14. Below is a collection of Anteater love stories.
Editor’s Note: Responses were lightly edited for grammar and clarity.
“Lizbeth and I met here at UCI during the Freshman Edge [summer program], where we [were] partners on a project. We hit it off pretty well and became good friends from the start. After countless games of eight-ball and 4 a.m. talks later, we planned a day to watch one of her favorite shows together. We watched her favorite show and went on a night walk, [and] we went to the top of the parking lot where we looked at the starless night sky. Over in the distance, we heard a loud noise. Curious as to what it was, we went to the other side of the parking lot to check it out. Just like a scene from a movie, there [they were]: fireworks from Disneyland. Even though there were no stars that night, the view of the fireworks was enough to light [up] the whole sky. Afterwards, we went to Aldrich Park, where we laid on the grass together, cracked jokes and looked at the clouds in the sky. That [was the] night we knew we fell in love.” —Jerald Adriano, class of 2026
“It was early December and I was reading @ucimissedconnections with some friends. I saw a post about a guy I thought was cute and sent him the post. I was shooting my shot. We’ve now been dating for a little over a year and he’s the absolute best man.” —Anonymous
Anteaters walk through Aldrich Park. Photo by Brennan Kraus / Staff
“We met on Hinge but agreed to tell everyone we met in a Chicano and Latino studies class, an agreement that lasted like a week. As she walked toward me for the first time, the wind blew up her dress. She asked, terrified: ‘Did I just flash you?’ She didn’t, of course. After that we got Saffron & Rose and sat in Aldrich Park on what is now ‘our bench.’ We’ve been together nine months and so far it’s been the best nine months of my life. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.” —Anonymous
“M was my neighbor freshman year. The first time I met her was during our first hall meeting. It was funny how out of everyone in the room we decided to talk to each other and we found out then that we were neighbors. At the time, she was still ‘straight’ and I was still in a relationship. Since all of our suitemates were friends, we hung out all the time. One time when we were all hanging out, she told us she was questioning her sexuality. We were all happy for her and by that time my previous relationship had ended. That same night, I dreamt about her. I wasn’t the type to catch feelings, so I was honestly shocked. Anyway, we began flirting and I really wasn’t sure if it was one-sided. Our friend eventually asked M how she felt about me and she said she was fan-girling over me. That was when I finally had the courage to ask her out.” —Anonymous
Love is in the air. Photo from Master1305 / Shutterstock
“I joke around with a pretty girl in the class. After a particularly jokey class, I see her on Hinge. I message her; she invites me to a [Halloween] party. I drop my friend’s angel halo off the balcony by accident. We go around to get it; we kiss. I pick her up and drop her on her sprained ankle. We start dating a month later. She’s a cute neuroscience girl; I’m a dumbass computer science dude. She makes me really happy.” —Anonymous
“I walked into lab and sat down at the same table as this girl. She made me nervous and comfortable all the same. Distinctly, I remember spilling sugar all over the scale because my hand was shaking from laughing. We kept seeing each other in classes and labs, and eventually, that led to outside of class. One day, I had enough courage to ask her out. She said yes. That quarter was rough in multiple other ways, and I don’t think I would’ve made it out without her support. Sadly, we’re not together anymore and she’s no longer attending UCI — she transferred out. Not every love story has to end happily though, and I still think the experience was all worthwhile — something I wouldn’t regret in the slightest. At times, it still makes me smile.” —Anonymous
Thank you to New University readers for your responses.
Chrissy Park, Yuika Yoshida and Lauren Le are the 2022-2023 Campus News Editors. They can be reached at campusnews@newuniversity.org.
