In honor of Valentine’s Day 2017, we’d like you to meet a UCSB couple! Brett Frago (20) and Catrina Wilson (21) are third year Physics and Chemistry majors from Atwater, CA. As one of the cutest couples on campus, they told us a little bit about themselves and about each other.
How long have you been together?
Brett & Cat: 3 years now.
How did you meet?
Catrina: We don’t remember! We went to high school together…
Brett: …and you know how everyone just starts to know each other in high school? So like we heard of each other, and then probably…
Catrina: We never really got introduced…
Brett: I think junior year was when we had class together for the first time.
Catrina: Sophomore year we both went to a mutual friend’s birthday party and we knew the other was there…
Brett: I didn’t talk to her though. She had a boyfriend.
Catrina: Yea, my boyfriend came with me. Awkward.
Brett: We didn’t really start talking or dating or anything like that until senior year, maybe around December or November.
Catrina: Our Language Arts teacher assigned seats and he kept putting us next to each other.
Brett: So we would just talk in class and then she fell for me, of course.
I’m pretty sure teachers ship people together.
Catrina: Oh yeah, I’m POSITIVE. Especially that teacher. I had that teacher for three years and I was like “I know that you’re doing this!”
Brett: Then he moved us after we started dating. We were talking too much.
What is your favorite thing about each other?
Brett: I really like Catrina’s drive and her mindset. She’s really goal-oriented, and it’s something to live up to. She’s a hard worker. I really like that about her. And she’s intelligent, she’s funny.
Catrina: I like how laid back he is. He doesn’t stress out about anything, even when stuff is really pressing, he just doesn’t stress out about it. Whereas for me, I’m really stressed all the time. So he balances me out a lot. And I like how he’s so goofy and silly, it’s cute.
Brett: Looks like we balance each other out pretty well.
Do you have any advice for new couples?
Catrina: Make sure you’re friends first. Don’t go into it just because you find each other attractive and you’re talking kind of well…definitely make sure there’s a friendship there. ‘Cause if you’re not friends at first, the relationship is just gonna struggle in terms of communication. You have to be comfortable with that person at least a little bit to be friends if you want to be anything more.
Brett: There’s gonna be arguments, definitely, so try not to win arguments because there’s not gonna be a winner. You guys should try to get to a mutual point. And afterwards just forget about it, because there’s no point of holding these things in. It’s better to let it go and realize what was happening and what was wrong and then just be happy with each other. You shouldn’t hold negative emotions toward each other. If you have something like that you should get it out and tell them so you can talk through it.
Catrina: …like right away.
Brett: ‘Cause you don’t want anything to build up and pester you and stuff.
Catrina: Also, if you’re going into an argument, ask yourself: Am I hungry? Am I thirsty? Am I tired? And if you answer yes to any of those, fix it before actually bringing it up because…
Brett: …you might not actually be mad!
Catrina: Maybe you’re just irritable because you’re hangry or something. Guilty. The communication one is a big thing. If anything’s bothering you at all, bring it up. Hopefully, your partner won’t hold that against you.
Brett: And if you can let it go, let it go instead of having it affect you. So it’s like a sand in the dial, like nothing.