Online dating is quickly becoming the norm, and due to the proliferation of niche dating apps, meeting someone in real life might seem nearly impossible. However, three UT couples prove that meet-cutes still exist.
UT has a wide range of clubs and organizations that offer friends and social activities no matter how specific the beliefs or hobbies may be. The broad scope of unique places for people to meet has resulted in meet-cutes galore for many couples at UT.
Alicia Torres, a human dimensions of organizations senior, and computer science graduate student William Hoza met through the Horns for Life organization. The couple said their common beliefs led them to each other.
“Our shared worldview is really important to us, and meeting through that organization — an organization that has a lot of specific views — but we both showed up there and were like, ‘This is something we totally agree with,’” Torres said.
Torres said she attributes Horns for Life to the initial attraction she felt towards her now-fiancé.
“Just the fact that he was showing up to things that I cared about was one of the things that made him attractive to me,” Torres said.
Environmental science and geological sciences sophomore Avery McKitrick and computer science junior Darrius Anderson met through mutual friends and said they attribute their common interests to the health of their relationship. The couple does yoga together through UT Yoga Club, and they are also renting a plot from UT Microfarm that they work on together.
McKitrick and Anderson said they are always striving to try new things together in an attempt to learn more about each other.
“We are always trying new things together, farming and the yoga are both new,” McKitrick said.
Anderson said growing is important, but it’s imperative to stay conscious of the way this growth is achieved.
Slavena Dontcheva, a communication studies and human relations senior, and physics senior Andre’ Zapata met in a College of Natural Sciences TIP mentorship group. They said they were initially drawn to one another’s intelligence, but their attraction continued to grow upon realizing how ambitious they both were.
“Apart from looks and motivation, she was just super ambitious and she had some crazy dreams, and I thought I had crazy dreams,” Zapata said. “I knew that I wanted someone that was going to try to succeed at a higher level indefinitely.
The three UT couples were able to attest to senior lecturer Nancy Daley’s theories about healthy relationships.
Daley, who lectures in the department of educational psychology, said that perfection can not be expected from either party of the relationship. Passion about the same things also makes relationships stronger. However, Daley said successful relationships have a few key ingredients.
“(Those ingredients are) reasonably adult humans who like each other and possess a few qualities like empathy, resilience, the capacity to forgive and the ability to see the bigger picture (and) minimal drama,” Daley said.
In addition to these key components, Anderson also said that growth is an important part of any relationship.
“You have to be growing but also supporting each other because you can grow apart, but if you grow together and support each other in your endeavors, I think it goes great,” Anderson said.
