I am not quite sure when or why I exactly got the urge to join an internet dating site. Perhaps it was because I had been single for a long time, and had tired of trying to have a conversation with drunken girls in noisy nightclubs, or talking to one in a queue for a taxi before she was sick on my shoes.

Anyway, I decided to take the plunge and become an internet dater.

Low Self Esteem

I will be honest, it is something that I have never told anybody about before. I am not particularly confident in myself, looks wise, and was very self-aware about sending dozens of messages to any girl that I found attractive.

I am the bloke, after all, so I expect I will be the one sending loads of messages – but probably not getting many back. Despite my fears though, I managed to take a reasonable looking photo of myself on my phone and get it uploaded to the dating site.

Only one girl replied out of about ten messages I sent out in total.

Natasha – a student from Eastern Europe. We messaged each other for around a week, just talking about anything from Deal or No Deal to the weather before I finally got brave and decided to message her with my telephone number. After a couple of days of purposely avoiding the site, I had still had no reply. On day three, my phone lit up with a message from an unrecognized number. Though I usually just assume I’m getting one of those random marketing texts and delete them, something told me to read this one – lucky thing I did.

A Proposition

It was from Natasha, and she wanted to go out with me the following weekend. I tried my best to play it cool, but pretty much replied straight away in the affirmative. At this stage my creative side somewhat disappeared, and I suggested meeting in the local pub.

Thankfully, this was something she was happy to do. After all, I didn’t want her to think I was some raving alcoholic who had spent most of my time in there. Although I was awfully nervous, I made the conscious decision there and then to avoid alcohol that evening.

We met early on Saturday evening, and it would be fair to say the attraction was instant. She was as beautiful as in her picture she had sent me, and when she greeted me with a warm hug it was almost as if we were somehow connected.

Playing It Cool

For my part, I managed to play it cool for the rest of the evening as our conversations from our messaging easily carried over to the real thing.

Always a relief when that happens, isn’t it?! Phew!

We talked for what felt like hours, before we ended the night with a walk through the park. We arranged to meet again during the week, and I was just ready to say goodbye when she pulled me close and we shared an electric kiss.

We dated a few more times but the physical attraction eventually began to wear off and we found ourselves firmly in the oft-dreaded “friend zone.”

I may not have found true love with Natasha, but I managed to deal with my anxiety over dating and now I have a friend for life.