Here, there & everywhere

The story begins in September 2013, when two strangers brushed past each other in a cramped hallway at a house party.

“Hi.”
“Hey.”

It was orientation week at Ryerson University, and they recognized each other from various campus events. He was a sophomore and a frosh leader; she was a new student. Both were enrolled in the RTA Media Production program.

As he left the party and headed toward the subway, he listened as another student gushed about having a crush on that girl who just passed them. Meanwhile, still at the party, she was reflecting on how that guy who had just left played a surprisingly decent Tame Impala cover at a student event the night before.

By the winter semester, whispers began echoing down the university halls.

“Do you know Bianca from first year? She likes all the same weird stuff as you.”

“Do you know Julian M.? He’s got the same sense of humor as you - you two would totally hit it off!”

What followed were months of mutual reconnaissance, each learning about the other’s interests and music tastes. It all culminated in Julian finally messaging Bianca on Facebook:

“Hey - stop liking all the same things as me!”

From there, they quickly became inseparable. They began talking nearly every minute of every day, discussing everything from ‘60s music to true crime to their favorite comedians. Their first one-on-one hangout took place on July 4th 2014: it was a pizza-fueled vinyl record show-and-tell.

As they spent more time together, they discovered that their kooky personalities were the result of their frighteningly similar upbringings:

1) They both grew up in colourful amusement park cities: Julian had grown up next to Canada’s Wonderland in Vaughan, while Bianca had grown up near Clifton Hill and Marineland in Niagara Falls (Fun fact: Julian was obsessed with Clifton Hill as a weird kid and would visit every March Break to explore Movieland, the Rock Legends wax museum, and the Criminal’s Hall of Fame).

2) Their parents were around the same age and had a similar Larry David and Sopranos-flavoured brand of humor.

3) They had Beatles & Stones-inspired names: Julian was named after John Lennon’s son, while Bianca was named after Mick Jagger’s wife (Coincidentally, Julian’s sister was also named after Bianca Jagger - it’s not as weird as it sounds).

It seemed as though the same ingredients had been used to create two very similar people on opposite sides of Lake Ontario, while fortuitous timing had brought them to the same school at the same time.