American Idol's Chris Medina teaches us to love against all odds.

 Every time I see someone from Chicago make it to the Hollywood round of American Idol, I cheer and secretly jump up and down in my living room, but I know I’m not the only one! It’s probably because a part of myself wishes that I was the Chicagoan making it to the Hollywood round, and an even bigger part of it is clearly because of people like Chris Medina, a 26-year-old Chicago native, who’s audition aired on Wednesday, January 26. 

After eight years of being together, Chris proposed to the love of his life, Juliana Ramos, at the coffee shop that she worked at. She was beyond surprised, and Idol replayed home videos of the proposal, as Juliana covered her blushing face with her coffee shop hat, shielding herself from the video camera and kneeling down to kiss her new fiancé in private. Less than two years later, on a dreary October day, Juliana wore her engagement ring as she laid quietly in a hospital bed, fighting for her life with a tragic brain injury after making it through a horrible car accident. Chris sat with Juliana’s mother in the hospital, praying and hoping that she would make it. Chris told the Idol cameras, “even though the doctors were saying she wasn’t gonna make it, I just felt… there was no way she wasn’t going to wake up. I didn’t know what to expect after that, but I just knew she wasn’t going to die.”

After Chris’ audition, the judges asked him to bring in his fiancée. As they saw Chris wheel in his fianceé, they all rose from their seats for the very first time in this years audition process. Steven Tyler, from Aerosmith, bent down to kiss Juliana’s forehead as she sat in her wheelchair and whispered, “That’s why he sings so good. It’s because he sings to you.” Jennifer Lopez wiped tears from her eyes as Chris immediately locked eyes with his wheel-chair ridden fiancée, then sweetly kissed the engagement ring that hung from a small, silver chain around his neck. He not only held a large weight on his shoulders, but his fiancés engagement band as well, though no one would know about either unless they took a closer look. Chris didn’t wear his struggles on his sleeve, and he stood strong, until you peeked deeper past his smile and beautiful voice.

“I was about to promise ‘til death do us part,” Chris told Idol cameras. It’s beyond admirable to see Chris uphold the promises that he hasn’t even been able to make yet, and it certainly makes you think twice about the person you choose to spend your life with. The love that Chris holds in his heart for his disabled fianceé is the kind of love that’s capable of far more than happily ever after, and isn’t that what we’re all searching for? Juliana has found that in Chris, and somewhere in her, despite the brain injury and shaking hands, Juliana knows just how lucky she really is. We should all be proud to have someone like Chris on national television, as a Chicago native who’s heart is out-measured only by his talent and his smooth, sweet singing voice. Chris made it to round two in Hollywood, and I watched as I made a promise to myself to be devoted to my fiancée even half as much as Chris is devoted to his.

It’s a heart-wrenching story for the majority of the people watching. Whether single or in a relationship, there’s no doubt that every life would be enhanced by the kind of love Chris holds in his heart for Juliana. Wipe away the tears that Chris’ story provoked, and make a vow to yourself to make every effort possible to take care of the ones you love, just like Chris Medina has. I know I will.