I always pictured myself meeting the man of my dreams while I was flipping through the pages of my philosophy textbook at my favorite hip coffee shop that I've begun to be a "regular" at. He'd walk into the coffee shop in a hurry to get his mid-afternoon macchiato. I'd look up in confusion from my book, push my glasses up from falling down my nose, and lock eyes with him.

We'd shyly turn away; him back to looking at the time on his phone while I reburied myself into the book so I could pass my exam the next day. Finally, he'd come up to me and comment about something philosophical and I would be impressed by his knowledge of the subject. We'd spend the rest of the afternoon talking about anything and everything while enjoying each other's coffee breaths.

But that hasn't happened yet. So in the meantime, I continue to swipe left and right on the app that I told myself I'd never get: TINDER. Infamous for casual hookups and creepy users, Tinder has turned out to be one of the most, if not THE MOST, interesting app that I've ever had on my phone.

I either find myself actually having substantial conversations with complete randoms or getting to know someone by merely looking at five photos of them and reading their two sentence bios.

So for all you people who haven't met their true love at a coffee shop in the middle of midterms and need something to kill the time in between, here are a few quick tips on how to get started on Tinder.

1. Figure out who you are (or at least who you want to be seen as).

When creating your Tinder profile, you only get so much space to create a brief description of yourself. Make your bio something witty and interesting that best describes you! When you pick pictures of yourself, make sure you pick pictures that make you seem multifaceted; pictures of you and animals, doing something adventurous like rock climbing, and even a nice picture of you dressed up on Easter with your mom are just some ideas!

2. Shoot your shot.

Wayne Gretzky once said, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." If you match with someone who you think is super attractive or you love the funny pun they have in their bio, LET THEM KNOW! Don't be afraid to message someone first. They swiped right on you too!

3. Bounce back.

However, shooting your shot does not always guarantee buckets. If you shoot your shot and the person either doesn't respond at all or messages you back and seems uninterested, don't sweat it! There are tons of other fish in the sea. Just keep swiping, just keep swiping ("Finding Nemo" reference).

4. Don't be afraid to ghost.

As much as I don't condone ghosting, Tinder is one of the very few exceptions. Because Tinder is so casual, ghosting someone when you're not interested in them is totally fine. If you're not feeling their vibe, go back to swiping.

5. YOLO

Lastly, remember to have fun! Tinder is what you make of it. Whether you use Tinder on a lonely Saturday night to find someone to send a "You up?" text to or if you're trying to find the person of your dreams, it's possible! I know people who've used the app for casual relations, but I also know people who've been dating their matches for years now! Whatever your reason, go out there and get on swiping!