Sometime during my realization that carrying two jobs unnecessarily would lead to certain crazy-cat lady status, I became acutely aware of the fact that dating was a necessity in my life. My sister seemed to think so, too, because one of the items on my 27 x 28 list she wrote for me included going on three dates with three different people. Working too much though and not having much of a social life made meeting anybody new quite challenging.

Enter dating apps.

Now, it’s important to note I was dead against the idea of these apps. I was convinced it took the magic out of meeting somebody. And for my overly logical brain, yet ridiculously romantic heart, I had pre-decided that my in-depth analysis of any guy on these apps meant I would never be able to date them. Right off the bat I would have had to convince myself to swipe right and how would I ever know I actually liked them and didn’t just convince myself to.

With some rationalizing I had come to accept in this day and age, dating apps were merely a tool to meet people. We live in a digital world, therefore it would make sense that we would meet people digitally these days.

After a brief chat with an acquaintance who I knew had met her current boyfriend on an app, I decided to start with Bumble. It seemed less threatening and I was in control. Also, it was a common truth that Tinder was only for hookups.

And so began my adventures of swiping.

I was very selective at first. It’s like my right swipes were a precious commodity I couldn’t just throw away. I had to be attracted to the face on the screen and there had to be something in their profile that caught my attention. A passion for traveling. A nerdy side relating to computers or programming of some sort. Someone who liked the outdoors and adventure. A creative career or hobby of some sort.

No-shirt photos, though, that was a definite left swipe. The only exception to this rule would be if the guy was doing a water sport of some type. At least he’s creative in sneaking his hot bod on my phone.

A few non-sequential hours into my swiping adventures, my phone buzzed at me.

A match.

One of my very sparsely right swipes swiped right on me, too! I opened Bumble real quick to discover that it was an Australian who was living in the city. He was pretty cute!

Now came the stressful part of figuring out what to say first.

Stay tuned for part 2 of B’s dating adventures to see how my first match went!

Are you a hopeless romantic who’s ventured into the dating app world? I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments.