Last Valentine’s Day, I reluctantly signed up for the charity event “Blind Dates for the Blind” through Deacon Dating. The overall experience was entertaining, so when the opportunity arose again, I gladly took it. I signed up for my blind date, once again curious to see what kind of boys would be attracted to a blind dating service, especially during a pandemic. My date and I planned to grab dinner one Thursday night after receiving a text scheduling our meeting. Finding each other in the now-empty Benson food court, I was once again happily surprised by how fun meeting someone new in such a forced situation was!
My date and I immediately discovered numerous mutual friends, which seems inevitable on a campus as small as Wake’s. We ate, chatted about classes, majors, quarantine, and our living situations, hardly running out of small talk. After eating and talking at an outdoor picnic table in true COVID fashion, we parted ways, happy to have made a new friend over a good meal. Dating Deacons once again put me out of my comfort zone, but in the best way possible, as I had a fun night and gained another friendly face on campus.
Since large gatherings, parties, campus events, and even in most person classes are not allowed in the wake of the pandemic, meeting new friends is rare, if not impossible. Social distancing does not usually lend itself to mingling with strangers, which makes expanding your social circle all the more difficult. Dating Deacons is a perfect opportunity to meet someone new and switch up your routine in a safe, fun, and low commitment manner. Sign-ups are still open and I cannot recommend trying it out enough! Plus, it benefits charity, which is absolutely a bonus!