At 23, I'm a single girl who is constantly taunted by engagement announcements, wedding photos, and baby posts that flood my news feed.

While many of the people I knew in high school are already settled down, I'm starting off my final year of undergrad and wondering if, I too, will ever find "my person."

Just like the bulk of single millennials, my phone is loaded up with dating apps in hopes that just maybe the person I'm looking for is also looking for me. Anytime I'm bored and unsure of what to do with my spare time, I swipe through potential suitors.

Somewhere amidst the lefts, the rights, and the bio reading, my trust in these services tend to plummet.

More often than not, I'm being contacted by men who either just want to have some "fun" or have no idea what they want at all. Occasionally, I'll find myself chatting with someone who actually gets it and is on the same page.

The post-match chat lasts a few days until the talk of plans is on the rise. From there the conversation begins to fade and we never hear from each other again.

Do you know who I blame? Myself.

If you're anything like me, you've been conditioned to believe that the person on the other end of the phone is never who they say they are; but instead, some bearded old guy who's out for blood or steal your virtue or something else that is absolutely terrible.

So, I may be a little bit afraid of meeting the people I connect with. Maybe this is because of what I've gone through personally or because my mom has always been super cautious. Lately, I've been wondering why. What's the point?

I'm sure I'm not alone on this and that I'm not the only one who needs to loosen up a little bit.

I've been off and on dating apps since 2013. In that time I've matched with a magnitude of people, literally thousands. Some I talked to, some I never even messaged, but in that time I've only ever met four people I've matched with. With the exception of one match, it took me at least a year of chatting to meet those individuals and in some cases, three.

When I did finally meet those people it was too late. While it was nice to see them in person after months of back and forth, it was clear they had lost interest. That loss was and is completely justified.

Reflecting back on my lack of Tinder and Bumble related dates, I realized I was only holding back because of all the times I've heard my elders say "you gotta watch who you're meeting" or "you never know who you're dealing with there!"

The truth is our parents met people for the first time at bars or events, etc. and it's no different than us meeting someone online. There was no way they could fully know a person after one dance or one drink. So what's wrong with us meeting people that we know we have something in common with after matching online?

Sure there are people out there catfishing, but we have a wide variety of tools to utilize before meeting these people for the first time.

So to all the ladies out there who are hesitant about going on those online dates...do your reverse image searches, verify through FaceTime and just get out there. Stop letting fear get in the way of what could possibly be something great.

Take it from me, you never want to wait until it's too late.