In storytelling, a “meet cute” is a fictional scene where two potential romantic partners meet for the first time. With Valentine”s Day right around the corner, three University of Idaho couples share their own “meet cute”moments in this Rawr Q & A.
Alex Brizee | Rawr
UI students Kyle and Shelby Swanstrom
Kyle and Shelby Swanstrom
Shelby: We met when I was in eighth grade and he was in ninth. We were in yearbook class together. He asked me out to a dance and we started dating – I think we”ve been together, what now, seven years?
Kyle: Yeah, pretty much, we were in yearbook class together and I showed up a little late and I didn”t really know what was going on, I had some catching up to do. My best friend was in the class and we were talking about this upcoming dance and I was like, “Well, this Shelby lady is pretty cool,” so I tried to ask her out. I had never had a girlfriend before and I was like “Shoot, I”m going for it.”
Rawr: What”s your favorite part about each other now?
Shelby: He”s very loyal and dependable. He”s really easy to be able to lean on and he”s very kind, he”s a golden-hearted person.
Kyle: It”s been super, yeah, words can”t explain it. It”s been nice – I”ve loved being married to you and going to school and being married to you is so easy. You are super caring and kind and you like to take care of things and you can multitask and I can”t. You”re fun, too.
Shelby: He has the best dad jokes ever.
Kyle: I”m a bit of a dork, but she puts up with it.
Alex Brizee | Rawr
Assistant Professors Ryanne Pilgeram and Russell Meeuf
Ryanne Pilgeram and Russell Meeuf
Ryanne: We met as freshmen as undergrads at Pacific University in Oregon. We lived down the hall from each other in the dorms and we were both in the honors program so we took a lot of our classes together.
Rawr: What are your respective favorite parts of your relationship?
Russell: Just having someone who”s your best friend and having someone you”re really compatible with you around all the time is really nice.
Ryanne: I can”t imagine a life where I don”t get to bounce all these different ideas off of him. We really are best friends. We have three kids so we talk through our kids being sick, but we can talk about what”s going on at work and we have a lot of the same hobbies and interests – we are awkwardly compatible.
Rawr: After 16 years together, what advice would you give to couples who are just starting out?
Russell: You have to actually be partners. It can”t be one person pulling too much weight in one area, you have to share the load.
Ryanne: Choose wisely. If someone seems like, “Ugh, I don”t think I”ll be able to put up with this,” then don”t put up with it because being in a bad relationship is way more work than just being alone.
Corrin Bond | Rawr
WSU student Derek Thompson with UI”s Trevor Krauer
Trevor Kauer and Derek Thompson
Trevor: I”m an EMT with Moscow Ambulance and I was giving CPR education lessons at the Farmers Market this last summer, teaching about compressions and how to give breaths, and he was at the Farmers Market with a couple of friends. He came up to me and asked me how to do CPR and it was actually pretty cute. It was kind of like a romantic comedy, honestly.
Derek: It was totally obvious. We had Starbucks afterward and went swing dancing – just a coffee date turned into this seven hour date and it was the best first date.
Rawr: What”s your favorite part about your relationship?
Trevor: I”m a very black and white person.
Derek: I am the definition of gray. It”s two in the morning and I”m like, “I want Dutch Bros, let”s go.”
Trevor: And I”m like, “That”s not a logical decision, I have to get up for school in the morning” and we end up meeting halfway in the middle or do some crazy adventure because I know have to step outside of my box and he makes me step out of my little safety box, but I bring him down to the ground sometimes.
Derek: I am crazy and he definitely makes it me more realistic – about just everything. He grounds me. I”m idealistic and love doing everything and he”s like, “OK, think about the future, how is this going to help you?”
Rawr: Even though you go to different schools (Trevor is at UI and Derek, WSU), are you able to make it work?
Trevor: We just celebrated our six-month anniversary – it was a very typical gay weekend, but it was also super straight because we went and watched “The Book of Mormon” Broadway, but then we went to a hockey game – we”re pretty all over the scale.
Corrin Bond can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @corrbond