A Chance Meeting and The Rest of My Life

By: Stephanie Stettler

I met Sanjay in a coffee shop almost five years ago. If I were to credit one incident that gave me the courage to pursue my life path, it would be this chance meeting with Sanjay.

As I’m sure you might imagine, his presence was titanic and he immediately pulled me into his world for a conversation that lasted almost two hours. At the time, I wasn’t sure why he wanted to engage with me - he shared every story, what he did for work, the app he was working on, how he met his wife, their wedding, their families, etc. His spirit was almost too much for his person, and his positivity was overwhelming.

I told him that I also had a potential love interest, but it scared me. Compared to his love story, mine was consumed with trepidation. He looked me straight in the eye and told me to go for it. Great life opportunities like this one must be pursued, he told me, and that I really had nothing to be afraid of. Honestly, he gave me the gumption that I needed to dive in head first.

We became Facebook friends after that one interaction and I followed his story online, but we never met again. He invited me over to dinner once, but I was on my way to Australia to pursue my love. I always regretted not having that dinner with Sanjay and Juel. I felt deep down that I was missing something great.

While I didn’t have the opportunity to know Sanjay better, his inspiration has now given me a husband with whom I share a beautiful life, a daughter, and baby boy on the way. I feel more grateful that was able to share Sanjay’s powerful spirit for just a chance meeting than perhaps anyone else I have met. You are all very lucky to have known him.