Myspace brings l♥ve
November 18, 2015
Imagine yourself wandering around the same middle school and high school as your future spouse without knowing it.
For Diamond Bar High school alumni and now DBHS substitute teacher, Nathan Pope, it took Myspace for him to finally notice his future wife, despite attending South Pointe and DBHS with her for four years.
Ten years ago, when Pope was a junior and his future wife, Alyssa Anaya, was a sophomore, they first met at DBHS after introducing themselves on Myspace. United by their love of Bob Marley, Anaya took the first step by messaging Pope about his new profile picture that he had changed to a picture of Marley.
Starting off their relationship online as shy high school students, the two decided to set aside the technology and meet each other in person at school.
“The first time we saw each other at school was on a rainy day,” he said. “We passed each other by the USB room. She had her letterman jacket on, jeans and shoes, and we both had the same umbrella.”
After dating for a while, Pope and his wife became more comfortable with each other and started attending all the school dances together. In addition, Pope played football and Anaya played volleyball and basketball during high school, so they always supported one another on the bleachers, cheering each other on.
When Anaya achieved recognition for her sportsmanship by being named DBHS female athlete of the year in 2007, Pope proudly supported her.
“While we were first talking, I was watching one of her basketball games and I knew she looked up at me in the stands, but she played it off,” he said.
After graduating, Pope attended Citrus College to play football in 2006, while Anaya transferred to the same school during his second year. The couple both received further education at Cal Poly Pomona and soon enough, they knew they were ready to take the next step.
On the weekend of Anaya’s birthday, Pope proposed to her on the beach with the help of his friends. Before they left, he suggested they take a picture at the shore, and moments later, he presented her with the ring.
“I took that knee, busted out that ring, and said will you marry me,” he said.
On Feb. 6, 2015, the couple had their first child, Jacob William Pope. They had talked about having a family before they were married, so having that dream come true was a miracle for them.
Pope was working as a substitute teacher at DBHS for Mary Gaxiola teaching Civics and Economics, and was helping out with the school’s freshmen football team. Being back at the same campus as a teacher made him feel welcome, but it also felt odd for him initially.
“At first it was weird, being not a student, but on the other side being a teacher and telling them what to do,” he said.
Pope has been a substitute since last year at DBHS and hopes to land a permanent job at the school as a full-time teacher.
