Crossing the Friend Zone on a Second First Date

Raj Thakker and Trisha Vijay became good friends after meeting on a Bollywood dance team in college, but neither really knew where their relationship was going.

Raj Thakker first met Trisha Vijay on the Bollywood dance team at the University of California, Berkeley in September 2014 His first impression was that she wasn't the type of person he would normally befriend.

“I've always been more. quiet and reserved,” Mr. Thakker said, “while she was more of a pretty, outgoing girl. » p>

But when the two teamed up to help organize a fundraiser for the dance team, they quickly became friends. They discovered that they were born in the same neighborhood in Fremont, California, although Ms. Vijay grew up there, while Mr. Thakker's family moved to Saratoga, California. Over the next two years, their respect and admiration for each other grew.

“He helped other members of our team with their lessons. "computer science," said Ms. Vijay. “I thought it was very good quality. He is extremely patient. »

Finally, in late 2016, during Ms. Vijay's senior year, they started dating. After earning a bachelor's degree in economics, Ms. Vijay, 29, stayed in the San Francisco Bay Area and began working at Amazon, where she is now a senior product manager for Prime Video.

< p class=" css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Mr. Thakker, 28, earned a bachelor's degree in computer science the same year and is now a senior software engineer at YouTube, part of Google.

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