On July 1st, kind of on a whim, I downloaded Hinge (for the third time ever) and set up a profile with the assistance of a friend. She had plans to set up her profile with her best friend (not me), and setting up my profile gave her an idea of what the process looked like and the potential in the suitors surrounding us. After spending almost an hour on the app, both with setting up the profile and exploring options, I ended the first day of having my Hinge profile with eighteen guys showing interest in me.
The difference between downloading Hinge this time and the previous two times is I was committed to sticking it out for one month. Previously, I would get over it after a few days and delete my account. As of July 2nd, I was not feeling hopeful and was literally fighting myself to not delete anything.
For the entire month, I didn’t swipe nor like any profiles recommended for me. It made me nervous and kind of made my fear of immediate rejection come out.
As of July 13th, I had a total of thirty-two men show interest, and they all possessed one or more of these qualities. Well, according to their profiles:
- Creepy smile. I understand not being photogenic but…
- “Not political.” In this America, I’m going to need you to be political, to show that you give a darn about the betterment of people, to say the least.
- Bad pick up lines. Immediate ick, even if they were meant for humor.
- Same selfie angle. Show me more about who you are and your life.
- N-word or B-word in their pictures. Absolutely not.
- No job listed or “working at making money” for job. I need proof that you’re ambitious, even if you’re still in school working to pursue the career you want. I know the job market is rough, but having a job is the bare minimum.
- Disgruntled/disheveled appearance. Look like you try to take care of yourself.
- Answers don’t align with my morals, values.
- Smokes. I want to breathe.
- Cat person. I want to breathe.
Between July 13th and July 22nd, five more guys showed interest, and one of them stood out to me. Our profiles mostly aligned, and I truly said “Yolo.” My friend (the one I made the profile with) and I were building a landing page when I made the decision to show my interest. I was working on my laptop and asked my friend to message him on my behalf (big mistake… she used an unnecessary amount of emojis). The guy immediately responded with trying to figure out a date (a result of the particular prompt I chose to respond to).
On July 25th, we went on the date. For the few days in between, I learned next to nothing about him. I was truly going on a date with a stranger, and for some reason, I wasn’t nervous. There was no adrenaline or fear running through my veins. I went in with zero expectations, and the date ended up lasting six hours and nineteen minutes. He was a wonderful gentleman the entire time; though, our outfits gave two different vibes. He dressed for the heavy rain we were experiencing, and I dressed for comfort, which just so happened to be a dress.
Afterwards, he texted about continuing to get to know each other and date. I said yes, and we immediately started making plans for the next one. There’s still so much more to learn about him, and honestly, I’m just going with the flow, seeing where this thing goes–if it even goes anywhere.
I didn’t get on the app after going on that date, until it was time to delete my Hinge account & the app. Ten more guys had shown interest since establishing the date with Mystery Man, but none of them were worth risking whatever’s developing between us.
Again, I’m not sure where this is going to go; I’m taking it one day, one text, at a time. I didn’t anticipate meeting anyone on Hinge, especially given my track record. I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t delete it after a few days.
