In high school, the idea of dating terrified me. The thought of having to introduce a potential significant other to my parents caused a lot of trouble for me. I turned down a handful of suitors with the idea that waiting until college would be my best bet. I would be far away enough from home that I would be able to do things on my terms. And then the pandemic hit, and all my hopes and dreams were shattered. Naturally, I downloaded a few dating apps; Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge.
Tinder was very quickly deleted from my phone once I realized that I wouldn’t find what I was looking for on there.
Bumble was nice, but never really led anywhere until one man asked me out. We were to go on a date at a park per my request. It was outdoors, not crowded, and it was free! I spent the morning getting ready and began to walk to where we were meeting. I sat on a bench and waited. And waited. And waited. Bumble was deleted soon after that.
Hinge was my last hope, my saving grace. The first few weeks of scrolling were not very promising. Conversations were quick and never led anywhere. That is until you guessed it, I was asked out once again. We went bowling, and he was very nice. He paid for me and asked lots of questions about me. But something just felt off, and I could not place what it was. About halfway through my date, it hit me. This man looked exactly like my cousin. And I don’t mean in a way where he reminded me of my cousin. I am talking about full-fledged doppelgangers. I was freaked out the rest of the date, unable to push the thought out of my mind. Hinge was soon deleted after that.
So maybe I will meet someone organically. Maybe we run into each other at a coffee shop or the library where I study. Maybe we have a class together. Well, the thing about meeting someone organically during a pandemic is that it feels impossible. How do you meet someone when you can’t even see half of their face? Or when you can’t participate in large social gatherings? With my twenties lurking in the corner, I can’t help but feel a strange kind of disappointment in my lack of love interests.
This article is not a list of tips and tricks for dating during a pandemic, because I myself am clueless. With that being said, this article is also not supposed to discourage you from putting yourself out there. I know it is difficult and totally awkward, but you could be that someone I wanted to be. Dating during a time like this is weird, but not impossible.