done with dating apps

title is self explanatory, but i deleted the last dating app i had on my phone a few days ago. it finally felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders, and i felt (and still feel) like this:

this had me realizing how over I am with dating apps. they're stressful, time consuming, and are just a shell of substituting the lack of third spaces that we're dealing with (and that gen z has a hard time dealing with in general).

i want to use 2025 to not tire over dating apps or if xyz will text me back or not. I want to use 2025 to have fun with friends, enjoy my spring semester, and discover new places. I want to actually go somewhere for spring break, and i wanna travel with friends!! i wanna see places like DC, Toronto, and other cool places for the first time in my life... I wanna study abroad!! I wanna go to Seoul, London, Tokyo, Taipei... anywhere that's (financially) possible to go!

i always have my bingo board lingering in the back of my mind, and my main focus is to just have FUN! i feel like i've been so worried from the ages of 21-24 to try and find that "special someone" through the messy pile of people known as dating apps, and i've come to realize that there's much more value in simply taking time to meet people in person while making sure to nurture the relationships you have online.

and it's not like dating apps are totally meaningless. i have friends who have met their long term partners (who they want to marry!) through dating apps. i just don't think apps like those are for me. they feel like job interviews--- a whole miserable process where your profile is the resume, the match is the screening, and the dates are just job interviews. and if you're not fun enough or not pretty enough in comparison to your profile, then you've already failed the "interview". i've had much more fun just having dates with people i've met in person because the energy is instantly there in person, meanwhile it's harder to gauge interest through text messages.

i'm sure i'll eventually find my forever person (although i don't necessarily have the highest of hopes), but until then, i want to just have fun with the people currently in my life. ones who i don't have to perform for, and who will accept my quirks, weird preferences, and obscure references with open arms.

i'm closing this post by quoting virginia woolf's 1931 new years resolutions, and hoping my year is the same: 

🅴