One of the most important people in your life is the one you choose to spend it with. Whether it is your partner, husband, wife, boyfriend, or girlfriend; this person is ridiculously special. My boyfriend is no different. He makes me laugh uncontrollably, and smile until my face hurts. His hugs are among the best in the world, and he makes me feel so loved. When we are together, our love radiates to everyone around us, and people who do not know our story ask the usual question, “How’d you two meet?” With no shame, we respond with, “We matched on tinder.”
Modern dating is very different compared to how it was 50 years ago. With social media and technology taking over every aspect of our lives, it even grabbed hold of how people find romance. Match, EHarmony, Bumble and countless other dating sites that have millions of users, who joined in hopes of finding “the one.” In my opinion, I think the best way to meet someone is by chance, while out getting coffee or at the bar on a Friday night. Although that is ideal and very cliche, in today’s society it seems nearly impossible to meet someone that way since everyone is locked into their phones and other media sources.
One day, I decided to try a little experiment and see how the Tinder dating app actually worked. It was actually quite fun. Being able to swipe and message a person quickly was very convenient, even if it is superficial to judge someone based on a first glance. At the time I was visiting my mom in Tennessee, and a specific match with a guy named Liam seemed to stand out. He messaged me telling me my smile was too beautiful not to tell me, and even if I did not answer, he needed to say it anyway. After hundreds of messages through Tinder and Instagram, we started texting and face timing every day. Turns out, he was originally from the East Coast like I am, and in the summer we were able to meet up. Whenever we have time, we visit each other at school and have the best time. We never dated, but to this day I am happy to have Liam as one of my dearest friends.
For a while, I ditched the app to see if I could meet someone the old fashioned way. With no luck, I re-downloaded the app to give it one more shot, and got way more than what I hoped for. I matched with a local DJ and producer named Patrick, who caught my eye. I asked him for his sound cloud to listen to his music. Although it was cheesy and had little-to-no thought, it was the best pick up line I could think of and it actually worked. We chatted, exchanged numbers, and within 72 hours I was driving an hour away to go on a date with him. I thought I was crazy, but I decided that I would not receive great joy out of my life if I never take risks. So at the time, this was the perfect one to take. I never thought I believed in love at first sight, until I saw Patrick. He was wearing a navy blue life guard hoodie, with tan shorts. His hair was perfectly swept, and his smile could light up a room. As our date at the boardwalk begun, we immediately started sharing stories of our childhood and how we grew up. This was no ordinary Tinder match. Patrick was not just a guy I met online to try and hook up with and then never see again. I truly enjoyed his company, and could not wait to tell my friends I finally found a great guy.
Of course, I have had bad experiences on the app with guys saying dirty and unwanted things. This goes for any dating app you use. There are always the people that ruin it for the rest. How I feel about Liam shows that on Tinder you can form any type of relationship. Friendships are equally as important as intimate relationships. If there is no sexual attraction, being friends is always an option. Patrick and I are currently in a serious relationship, which also happens to be long distance. We go to college 1000 miles away from each other. I have had people tell me a long distance relationship is not worth it, especially with someone I met on tinder. To me, no matter how Patrick and I met, we would have the same feelings about each other that we do now. We are both human beings, who have similar goals and want the same things out of our lives. Truthfully, it doesn’t matter how you meet someone, as long as they make you happy. Thanks Tinder; without you I wouldn’t have met the two most important people in my life. Keep helping others find love.
