Vivian Tong

Love at first sight eluded me, but love at first taste? It is crystal clear you were made for me. Sparks flew, your presence knocked into my soul and my heart is forever ablaze for you. My only desire is your love this Valentine’s Day. 

Time has flown by, but my mind lingers on you as if we were still fresh from being strangers in the dining hall. Though it has only been a week, I surmise we have locked eyes — or should I say taste buds — and danced by one another for eternity. You were quiet and reserved, nearly alone at the salad bar, but your avocado and lemony complexion beckoned at my soul. 

So, I Googled how to write a good letter and it said you gotta be specific and vulnerable. But if I’m being honest, it’s just the vibes that draw me to you. I feel safe when I’m around you, enveloped by your herbaceous scent and the Timothy Dwight College dining hall’s killer playlist. I can be myself. I do my little happy dance while eating, and that happy dance is all because of you. You’re my happy dance. 

Perhaps what tickled my interest most is how your character is unrattled by fame. You wander freely in the heads of every Yale student I know, and shine brighter than a star on social media — Yitter, specifically — but alas, you’re humble. You never change. 

You are priceless. No common merchant, no average Trader Joe, could indulge in your beauty. To be entwined with you here at Yale has given me a sense of home, of security and comfort. No one can push us apart now. Amidst disease and despair, I will always come back to you. 

Our connection deepens each time I think of you. We transcend texts and calls. My body knows how to find you, pulled in by your gravity every time I am near. Nothing, not even Colgate Total, can erase your taste from my mouth. My world glows warmly once again thanks to you. My soul sings you an original melody: baby, you light up my world like nobody else. The way that you sit at the salad bar gets me overwhelmed. 

“I wouldn’t want any of my fake boyfriends to think I cheated on them, but I gotta be honest, you do be kinda cute though,” my friend Ava said. So true, Ava. I hope my girlfriend doesn’t see this piece. 

To my one and only, I have but one last thing I must tell you. I love you. You were born of the best ambition of the most skillful chefs. O’ Green Goddess salad dressing, my heart is yours.