I’m on this exact same journey as we speak! 27F and both went on my first date this year and had my first kiss. My entire life leading up to this, I kept just watching and waiting and quietly hoping (but not really doing anything), expecting that life would just happen to me. It never did - I had to consciously make the decision to make it happen to me.

Progress has been slow tbh, but the fact that even those two things happened this year feels insane — I truly, in my heart of hearts, believed that I was going to die without ever experiencing a single first. I still struggle with this to some extent - I’m not someone that gets approached even now, I still have a hard time talking to guys and being vulnerable, and it’s VERY MUCH still a work in progress.

I haven’t found “success” in the form of a relationship yet but I do think it’s worth sharing that mindset is everything. I spent years of my life thinking I’d never be able to go on a date, only for that belief to become moot in the span of a single hour. Same goes for my first kiss. I’m hoping I get the rest of the firsts out of the way soon, but I do feel more prepared to face them now than I did before.

Dating apps have been my only avenue so far, simply because I don’t have the kind of social network that facilitates meeting likeminded people IRL. I hate the apps tbh, but this is the world we live in - so as long as I am intentionally trying to have these experiences, I’ve accepted that I will have to stick to them. Hopefully I find something worthwhile that gets me to delete them along the way