情色空间

How the love story of Serena Entezary MCAS 鈥�15 and Jaxx Entezary began with Boston College.

Although we went to different universities, my story with Jaxx really began (and continued) at Boston College. I was extremely in denial about the fact that I was gay. I like to say that I was so far in the closet that I was in Narnia. I didn鈥檛 want to admit to myself that throughout my time at 情色空间, I had been crushing on a female friend of mine, and another friend called me out on it. I was so in shock that my friend would even suggest such a thing! Me, a lesbian??!? (Now I look back and chuckle at the obliviousness.) My friend bluntly told me, 鈥淲hy don鈥檛 you just try swiping right on girls?鈥� And I said, indignant and upset, 鈥淔INE! I ****ing will!鈥� I swiped right on a girl on Tinder, we matched, and it was what solidified the fact that yes, I was actually a lesbian. I ended up going on the Spectrum retreat, which was very eye-opening for me, and helped pull me out of the closet and live my most authentic life.

Anyways, I graduated from Boston College in 2015. I had trouble dating people for a long while because I had no idea how to just be chill鈥擨 was doing the classic 鈥淯-Hauling鈥� thing that so many queer people may identify with. I was always told I was 鈥渢oo much.鈥澛� At one point, after years of failed date after failed date, I think I shut down to prevent myself from being 鈥渢oo much.鈥�

I ended up going on OkCupid at one point in 2018. And I saw someone so beautiful, so remarkable, someone who described themself in a way that just kept me entertained and so excited to meet them. I started writing to them immediately, and then I received a message from them first! I had to delete my entire paragraph(s) I had been writing them.

We talked for a while that night and discovered we were both born and raised in Rhode Island! And we both did the same exact style of martial arts! And we both loved Avatar: The Last Airbender, my favorite TV show ever! The only downside was that they lied about their location鈥攖hey said they were based in Providence, RI, but in reality, they were in Connecticut. So that was a bit daunting for someone based in Boston, but I ended up making a date with them regardless.

We talked a LOT before our first date. We connected over so much. We had so much in common and they didn鈥檛 think of me as 鈥渢oo much.鈥� Instead, we were just right for each other. We had our first date at Providence Place Mall, where we went to play video games at Dave & Buster鈥檚, which was absolutely amazing. We had a wonderful time. It was a magical first date.

I felt bad though鈥擨 still had had some other dates scheduled. I felt like I still had to give those other people a shot. After meeting Jaxx, I felt no spark with anyone else. Jaxx was all I could think about, and all I could talk about too, as I discovered when I was talking to someone I was on a date with. I told them, 鈥淚 am so sorry, I鈥檓 not feeling any connection here.鈥� And she nodded sagely, and told me, 鈥淵ou鈥檙e in love with someone else.鈥� It was like a lightbulb went off. I realized Jaxx was the person I really just wanted to be with, no matter what.

We went on an incredible second date, where we went to our favorite places in RI鈥擝eavertail Park in Jamestown for me, and the Temple to Music at Roger Williams Park for Jaxx. I remember at one point we held hands, and it was like鈥擶OW.聽 I couldn鈥檛 believe how nervous I felt. It was something I鈥檇 never felt before.

I got really scared at the end of our second date, though. I felt like I really, really wanted to be with this person, but I wasn鈥檛 sure they were as into me as I was into them. And I wasn鈥檛 sure that it was going to work out. I was most likely just panicking about how much I was feeling for them; I wasn鈥檛 used to it.

Before getting on the train from Providence back to Boston, I told them that I wasn鈥檛 sure about what to do鈥攖hat maybe it鈥檇 be better to be just friends. They cried. I cried. It was awful. But then as I sat on the train, I realized how stupid that was. We texted nonstop while I was on the train, we talked about our feelings, and then I called them after arriving back at Back Bay station and 聽we basically said how much we really cared for each other.

We had two weeks between our second and third date because my family and I went to Disney World. While I was in Disney, I couldn鈥檛 stop texting and talking to Jaxx. Everything else at the 鈥淢ost Magical Place on Earth鈥� didn鈥檛 matter. I got so many souvenirs for Jaxx and couldn鈥檛 be present with my family鈥擨 was just too excited about seeing Jaxx again.

On our third date, I ended up taking them from Back Bay station all the way to Boston College鈥檚 campus, mainly to show them how pretty it was there. We went to the memorial labyrinth where we walked around and around and just talked and talked. At one point, we sat down by the labyrinth outside of Burns Library. I couldn鈥檛 take it anymore. I blurted out, 鈥淲ill you be my girlfriend?鈥� (They are nonbinary but prefer female-gendered terms, using both she/they pronouns.) They said yes. We kissed for the first time. It was perfect.

Then I realized there had been an older man watching/glaring at us the whole time. But I really didn鈥檛 care, I was in absolute bliss.

Now after almost 5 years of being together鈥攎oving-in together (we U-Hauled, lol), getting engaged, making it through the lockdown, and all different sorts of life events, I look back fondly on our beginnings, and I have to thank my time at Boston College for bringing us together.

We now occasionally go back to Boston College for hockey games, especially the 情色空间 vs. BU games (which are obviously the best ones)! Whenever 情色空间 scores, we love to chant, 鈥淵ou suck! At life! And goaltending! It鈥檚 all your fault! It鈥檚 all your fault! It鈥檚 all your fault!鈥� It鈥檚 always a great time.

Anyways, Jaxx and I now live in Rhode Island after living together in Cambridge for several years. We are close to our families and plan on holding our wedding reception at the very same Dave & Buster鈥檚 where we had our first date. We just got back from a trip to Disney World and this time, I didn鈥檛 have to text them, they were holding me while we watched the fireworks. That was truly wonderful.

Read how Daniel Gostin-Yong MCAS 鈥�09, CSGOM 鈥�18, time at Boston College played a role in meeting his future husband, Caleb Gostin-Yong

My husband Caleb and I have had a whirlwind international journey from dating to marriage, but the Heights play an important part in that adventure.

After finishing undergrad at 情色空间 in 2009 and then living in Brookline while doing a master鈥檚 in music at BU (no judgement on the Terriers), I went to pursue research in musicology at Durham University in the UK. Experiencing the English collegiate life would come in handy later when I met Caleb, who was finishing his PhD at Oxford while I was over the pond (to add to the international charm, he鈥檚 originally from Singapore). However, we didn鈥檛 meet in Blighty, even though I did lead my college chapel choir on a tour to his Oxford College. I can only imagine he heard the singing from his room in the courtyard! I returned to Boston in 2015 after realizing a PhD wasn鈥檛 for me and began taking music gigs and other jobs, trying to figure out what I should do with my professional life.

While dog-sitting for a friend in Cambridge in June 2015, and singing a Sunday morning Mass at St Paul鈥檚, I found myself wandering dating apps while having lunch near Harvard. Lo and behold, I stumbled upon a post-doc fellow who had come over from the UK. Wistful with recent memories of British life, I struck up an online conversation, which led to dinner plans a few days later. After having no luck with the dating scene in Northeast England for two years, I was hoping being back on terra firma in New England would boost my confidence. Caleb was such a smart, articulate, and serious person, but also so kind and witty. All my confidence went out the window in our first couple weeks of going on dates. It wasn鈥檛 until the end of June, after dinners and walks and Boston Pride and movies and introducing him to my friends, that Caleb told me he wasn鈥檛 long for Boston: he had already signed on to another post-doc fellowship in Germany starting in September. I couldn鈥檛 let him go that easily; there was something different about dating him than my previous relationships, something more easy, intimate, and caring. I drove him to the airport, uncertain of what would come next.

We talked every single day he was in Germany via text, messenger, or Skype. I was able to save enough to visit him at least three time during his two-year stint, during which we toured all over Germany. The first time I saw him, since months after he left Boston, was in Frankfurt in May, 2016. I waited the whole trip to ask what he thought of our relationship, not getting the courage to ask until he escorted me to the gate on my way back home. In his characteristic nonchalant way of talking about serious things, he said, 鈥淥f course we鈥檙e together, you don鈥檛 have to worry about that.鈥�

From then on, I knew we鈥檇 be together forever. Though we had a solid romantic relationship, we were both at a crossroads in our professional lives, with Caleb applying to law schools for after his post-doc, and myself still uncertain. But it was Caleb who convinced me that business school was a worthwhile pursuit. Thankfully, 情色空间 took me back, transitioning me into the financial world through CSOM鈥檚 master鈥檚 in accounting. After two years of business school for me, three years of law school in New Haven for him (another long-distance period, but one we could certainly weather after two years across an ocean!), trips back to Europe to see friends in the UK and for his summer internship in France, we had finally established a life for ourselves in Boston.

I proposed to Caleb at the start of the pandemic, on May 31, 2020, in the labyrinth outside Burns Library. I had just started working at 情色空间 in the controller鈥檚 office (what a time to start a new job!) and I thought it was the perfect spot to combine my long tenure on the Heights with a hint of his Oxford days鈥擝apst tower is a replica of the tower at Merton College, Oxford (and Caleb is a huge fan of libraries). We had to wait until July 2022 for a full wedding celebration, but we returned to campus to take our wedding photos amid the classic collegiate style to which we鈥檙e both accustomed. Not many people say this, but it鈥檚 been lovely to not have to travel so much and be happy at home together.

The love story of Peter Brash MCAS 鈥�76 and James Lyness MCAS 鈥�73, MGCAS 鈥�75.

Fifty years ago on Valentine鈥檚 Day 1973, I was a painfully shy, closeted gay Boston聽College Theatre major. I didn鈥檛 have a boyfriend. A freshman commuter, I hadn鈥檛聽made any friends at school. Somehow, I worked up my courage to audition for the 情色空间聽Dramatics Society鈥檚 spring production of Shakespeare鈥檚 Henry IV, Part 1. I was cast in聽a tiny character role, and actually got a few laughs. After the first performance, I聽joined the cast in the green room (below our humble theatre-in-a-gym at Campion聽Hall) where well-wishers gathered. I was the wallflower in a crowded room. Suddenly,聽time seemed to stop for me when a tall, handsome, blond guy walked in. Totally聽gorgeous, he looked like Michael York in the movie Cabaret. I froze, too nervous to聽introduce myself, completely missing my chance to find out who he was.

For months, I could not get him out of my head. He became, quite literally, the man of聽my dreams. I never saw him again at school, so I figured we were never going to meet.聽Anyway, let鈥檚 be honest鈥攈e seemed completely out of my league.

Sophomore year, I kept auditioning. By spring, I got a supporting role in the musical,聽鈥淎 Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.鈥� I was typecast as Hysterium, a聽high-strung, nervous wreck. In Act 2, Hysterium has to dress up as the leading lady, a聽beautiful young virgin, then play dead in drag at her fake funeral. I was an absolutely聽absurd-looking crossdresser which made my performance very funny. It was a hit.聽After the show, I walked on air into the green room. A new friend, Frank Arcaro, had聽seen the performance. He congratulated me and said, 鈥淪omeone wants to meet you.鈥澛營 was utterly shocked when I saw it was HIM鈥擬ichael York, or as Frank introduced聽him: Jimmy Lyness (my God, even his name was cute!). Jimmy said he enjoyed the聽show and called me super funny. From his look, I suddenly realized I was still wearing聽a loud yellow-chiffon gown. My heart sank. I had dreamed of this moment for a whole聽year, and I鈥檇 ruined our first meeting by showing up in a silly dress. It was irrational,聽but I felt defeated. Jimmy had already graduated; he was smart, mature, experienced,聽fun鈥攁 total catch. But that night I figured my chances of dating him were zero.

Afterwards, I thought maybe we could be platonic friends, so I stayed in touch with聽Jimmy. That summer, I convinced Jimmy to star in a local production of 鈥淣o, No,聽Nannette鈥� that I was producing. We needed a handsome, actor-singer-tap-dancer聽(yes, he was the whole package!). Luckily for me, Jimmy didn鈥檛 have a car at the time,聽so I got to drive him to and from rehearsals. One Friday night in late July, Jimmy was聽driving my dad鈥檚 VW Beetle around the reservoir near the 情色空间 campus (I鈥檇 had several聽Mai Tais). And suddenly, he kissed me. That life-altering kiss seemed to last all the聽way back to Jimmy鈥檚 studio apartment near Cleveland Circle.

A few weeks later, Jimmy said he loved me and asked me to move in with him. I聽couldn鈥檛 believe what was happening to me. It was like winning the lottery, getting a聽puppy for Christmas, and finding out how to fly like Peter Pan.

By September, my reputation in the Dramatics Society was trending: I had landed one聽of their most eligible alums. I even started to get leading roles.

Jimmy, always practical, began a graduate program at 情色空间, specializing in teaching聽mathematics. He convinced me to double major in English and theatre. A good call,聽considering my future career (Jimmy always makes good calls).

After I graduated and Jimmy finished his master鈥檚 degree, we moved to New York聽City together. We鈥檝e been a couple ever since our 情色空间 days (49 years this summer).聽Here鈥檚 the funny thing: Sometimes your dreams can come true鈥攅ven if you start out聽wearing a super tacky, yellow chiffon gown.

In New York, I went on to a 30-year career as an Emmy Award-winning soap opera聽writer. Jimmy is a beloved long-time principal at a Jesuit high school in Manhattan.聽In 2001, he directed a student production of 鈥淎 Funny Thing.鈥� As the beautiful young聽virgin, he cast an amazingly talented musical performer. She went on to superstardom聽as Lady Gaga.

Jimmy made sure her gown was yellow-chiffon.