During the taking of this picture, I knew for sure I wanted to make it official.
If you have been following my page regularly, you should already be aware that I explored the world of online dating for the first time last summer. My reason behind the idea was to try something new, put myself out there to meet new people, and to write an article on multi-dating possibly. Well, an article was created about my experiences with multi-dating by using the Tinder dating app, but I gained so much more than I originally intended when I created my Tinder account profile. If you are new to my page or are not familiar with my articles that talks about my online dating experiences, click the following links to get caught up. Multi dating Tinder Edition & Who did I end up choosing
Now that you are all caught up, it's time to fast forward to now. As you read the "Who Did I end up choosing?" article, I mentioned that I ended up falling for two guys on the app. When I originally started meeting guys on Tinder, it was just through curiosity and that there was a possibility that a friendship could come out of it. Well at the end of the article, I chose Calvin* to make it official with. Thanks to you all who read that article, I ended up getting the most views I have ever had since creating my blog. So with that being said, "Thank you and I hope you keep conversating with me through my blog."
The day we celebrated our one year anniversary
A few days ago, me and Calvin* (his real name is Logan) just celebrated our first year anniversary, it was on August 28th. We decided to celebrate over the weekend before since I was going to start the Fall semester of college the very next day of our anniversary. We went to the game room on campus and played pool, ping pong, and ate pizza. Afterward, we went back to my place, and he made dinner while I made drinks. Lastly, we played one of my favorite board games, which was the Game of Life. Overall, it was a very chill and great night.
So looking back from the very beginning of our relationship, it felt like the typical honeymoon stage; which typically lasts up to three or four months. During the honeymoon stage, that's when everything about the relationship is excellent and reality hasn't hit you yet. I am very familiar of this stage and know that the feeling doesn't last long since I've been in committed relationships longer than the length of the honeymoon stage. Unfortunately for Logan, four months was his longest relationship until now, so all he knew is the honeymoon stage. The honeymoon stage for us lasted two months longer than the typical honeymoon stage.
After the honeymoon stage was over, reality definitely hit us. Not every single thing that took place within the relationship could no longer be easily brushed off because the newness of the relationship was wearing off. Now that we had been together for six months, we struggled trying to find time to hang out while also working on our future careers. With all this taking place, money has been a cause for many of our conflicts. I mean what can you expect when two early 20-year-old young adults are in a committed relationship while at the same time working on their careers and completing their education? I mean the 20s are intended for personal, educational, and career growth; which equals to a lot of hard times when it comes to finances. At times it seemed as though, one person was so deep in bettering themselves that they accidentally left the other person hanging in the background. We have been working on balancing out the relationship and our careers. I believe that we have gotten to a better space with this.
When I mentioned that I gained a lot more than I intended when I first started using Tinder, well I did. And he told me that he did as well. When we initially joined Tinder, we had two opposing reasons for creating an account. I joined to write an article, while he joined to meet new possible friends to hang out with since moving back to Maryland. It kinda shocked both of us when realized that we actually liked each other more than we intended to happen. We both were dating other people at the same time we were dating each other and after we had a conversation last year, we dropped the other people immediately and then started officially dating. Throughout this year we've been together, I learned to put down my emotional walls entirely and to become more vulnerable.
This picture was taken on Valentine's Day
The difference between this relationship and all my past relationships is that everything I hoped to gain in a committed relationship, this is the only one that had just about everything I had on my checklist and possibly more. The other relationships either had some or close to none. I almost questioned myself because I thought that I probably set my standards too high, but I kept getting the thought that it wasn't so I never made any hard changes to my must have standard list when it came to dating. On my list, I wanted a guy who was patient, motivated and ambitious about something he loves, loves to travel and try new things, has to be a family person, and values education. On my Tinder profile I mentioned a few of the things I was looking for and for the most part, the guys that I matched with shared a lot of those qualities so they must have read my profile. I found that shocking because I felt as though most guys on dating apps just look at pictures and pay little attention to profiles. Clearly, I was wrong about that and was happy that I took the time to create a well-detailed biography. With that being said, it shouldn't have been a shocker to me when I learned that Logan had all the qualities I mentioned on my profile and the ones I didn't even list but was still hoping to gain in a future relationship.
We have now made it to the first year officially dating and I can't wait to see the number of years of being together add up over time. By online dating, I found something that I did not initially try to find but wanted and was looking for. The same can happen to you as well. They say that the best relationships happen by accident and my story proves right. Just have fun, don't put a lot of pressure on yourself, and let things happen naturally. If you ever were wondering about giving Tinder, multi-dating, or online dating a try; I hope I convinced you enough to try it out three articles later lol.
