One word: Tinder. Whether or not you want to admit it, the app is addictive. But does it actually do anything besides creep you out? The answer is yes.
Tinder’s simplicity is its appeal–its users prefer Tinder’s quick judgment method to the arduous task of classic online dating. The app allows young men or women to be very straightforward with their intentions. If a person’s frank request to get drunk and watch Dragon Tales is denied, he or she may quickly move on to the next match.
It seems to me that Tinder was designed to expand people’s dating horizons. It gives college-aged kids the opportunity to move outside their established social circles and find someone. Because the app is so simple and superficial, people don’t feel obligated to suffer through an elaborate courtship. You shouldn’t expect much out of a Tinder date–at least, that’s what I’ve come to learn from various Tinder stories that find their way into everyday conversation.
While the bulk of the circulating stories about Tinder are either horrific or comedic, I’ve actually found some success stories as well. I’m here to tell you that finding love on Tinder is real. It can happen. It has happened to a very fortunate University of Georgia grad who spent a year abroad in France. We’ll call her Kendra (name withheld to keep you hopeless romantics from finding her on the internet).
After graduating from college, Kendra decided to spend a year being a nanny for a family in France. While a full year is a major time commitment, the prospect of being fully immersed in French language, French food, and French men seemed entirely worth leaving the comforts of Georgia. Well in to her nanny adventure, Kendra’s family visited her in the beautiful city of Paris. Once her family left, however, Kendra was all by her lonesome. Not wanting to waste a night in this famously romantic city, she began perusing Tinder in search of other English speakers. Kendra wasn’t in a frantic search for a hookup. She simply wanted the comforts of a fellow English speaker to spend the rest of her night with on her Paris escapade.
Little did she realize she was going to find the love of her life on Tinder.
As Kendra swiped her way through Tinder, she fell upon a Brazilian. Normally she’d swipe left, as he was not the English speaking fella she was hoping to find. For some reason, she decided to mix things up and swipe right. Bam, a match happens. Fate is sealed.
They began their tentative conversation sans the creepy abrasiveness that litters Tinder messages familiar to us. They hit it off right from the beginning. Kendra made it known that she needed to catch a train to Switzerland tomorrow, so any rendezvous needed to happen that night. Unfortunately, the Brazilian got locked out of his apartment and couldn’t meet up. That’s that. The Tinder pair parted ways without seeing one another.
Yet the story doesn’t stop there.
The connection between Kendra and the Brazilian, who we will call Paulo, transcended the classic hit-it-and-quit-it Tinder messaging technique. For the next two months, messaging turned in to phone calls, which turned in to Skyping. Within those weeks of consistent conversation, Kendra and Paulo delved deep in to the hardships of their past, their hopes, their dreams, and their uncertainties. They formed an emotional link that is essentially unheard of in the Tinder world.
As Kendra’s time in France was coming to an end, Paulo threw out arguably the most ballsy proposition. He asked Kendra to come visit him in Brazil. For five weeks. Plane ticket paid for. All she had to do was say yes.
I would like to take the time to remind you that they had yet to meet in person.
Needless to say, she agreed. She hopped on a plane to Rio de Janeiro this past April, postponing her return to Georgia. She arrived to the airport, trekked to baggage claim, and became overwhelmed with apprehension.
No turning back now.
“It was like ripping off a Band-Aid,” she remarked, “you know it’s going to be uncomfortable, but you need to get through it.”
Once she got her bags and saw Paulo waiting for her, they immediately embraced and kissed, and the rest was history.
The relationship they have is unique in that they built an incredibly strong emotional base before they could experience anything physical. It made everything more meaningful, knowing the good, bad, and ugly aspects before ever enjoying one another’s material presence. Within a little over a month, Kendra and Paulo became thoroughly invested in one other. They had found love off of a trivial matchmaking app while in Paris. What they discovered is uncommon and unheard of, yet very real.
When Kendra returned to the United States, she decided to pursue a dental assistant’s job in California, where she lives now. Don’t worry; Paulo isn’t out of the picture. He plans on moving to California with Kendra, hoping to find a job when he gets there.
If she hadn’t swiped right, she would’ve never found Paulo. That certainly puts things into perspective. So the next time you shamelessly swipe through Tinder, pay a little more attention. After all, you may be swiping away the love of your life.