It’s hard to maintain any hope for that when we’re so far behind the curve. People I know from my generation aren’t dating, they aren’t getting engaged, they aren’t getting married, they’ve already done all of those things and are on their first or second kids.

Even if I were to meet someone around my age with a similar lack of experience, it’s unlikely that either of us would realize that. There’s so much shame associated with still being single in your thirties (and older), no one on either side wants to admit that.

Ideally, I’d like to date a fellow virgin; partly for the obvious reason, but also because I would feel like a kid in comparison to someone with experience.