Match.com

I'm not embarrassed to admit that I was on match.com. It's hard for anyone to meet someone whether they are gay, straight or bi, but I do sometimes think it's harder to meet someone of the same sex because most people tend to spend their time around more straight people than gay people. I am one of those people, and  most people also assume that I am straight. Because of these facts and because I'm sort of shy about approaching women, especially in a non-gay environment, I find it hard to meet people. I was recently given the advice that the best thing you can do it to put yourself out there into the world in every way that you can because you never know how and when you could possibly meet someone. I decided to do just that.

I joined match.com at the end of December for one month, which expired, and then I signed up for another month, which expired last week. While browsing match, I found that there were many attractive, educated girls with interesting stories, but all the ones I seemed to like lived in Virginia or Delaware or even further. I decided that I wouldn't let distance stop me from at least messaging with girls; I would decide if I liked them enough to meet them then figure out how.

At the beginning of February, I met a girl who lives in Arlington, VA. I knew I was going to like her before I met her, and that's exactly what happened. We met and connected and liked each other. The first time we met, she came to Baltimore, which is about an hour and a half drive from Arlington, and we had dinner then went out. Our first date lasted 24 hours and it was amazing. The next time we hung out, she drove to my apartment in Towson, which again took her about an hour and a half. She had driven to me twice and she wanted me to come to her the next weekend. I mapquested directions to Arlington, VA hourly for days. I kept changing the routes hoping something would look easy to me, but all I saw were bridges, tunnels, 495, and me having a panic attack. She kept asking me when I could be there because she wanted to make dinner reservations and find a museum for us to go to and figure out when we could meet up with her friends. The thought of all of this was just too much for me and made me not want to go, but I liked her and wanted to see her. But, that wasn't enough. I ended up telling her that driving to Arlington made me anxious and, even though she didn't understand, she told me she would come to me again that weekend. Something changed that weekend and she and I haven't seen each other since. I'm not sure if things would have been different if I could have driven to Arlington.

I met a few girls on match after Arlington girl, but I didn't feel a connection to any of them. My account has since expired and I'm taking an online dating break, but I have one more girl to meet. She works in D.C. and was living in the city, but is temporarily living in Maryland near College Park. She doesn't have a car and plans to move back to D.C. soon. I drove to College Park about a year ago for work, so I know I can make it there. I may get anxious, but I know I can do it. I've already mapquested it a few times and I know I will do all that I can to avoid 495 because that is one highway that makes my heart beat fast and my hands shake. She may borrow a car and meet me in the middle, but if not, I will drive to College Park to meet her because I think I'm going to like this one :)