#NerdsUnite: My name is Alicia and I'm doing 50 dates in 50 states
<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Alicia. She's about to embark on a 50 dates in 50 states dating documentary. She's here today to talk about her views on life, love, and all things through her nerdy little eyes. I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT ALICIA!! </editorsnote>
#TalkNerdyToMeLover's Alicia Ostarello
It's funny - ask me to fill out a dating profile all about me and I can stitch together charmingly witty wordplay that has reasonably good luck luring boys I want to date to me. But ask me to write a short article introducing myself to strangers who are merely going to read my dating adventures and Bam! I've got nothing.
I've been an avid on-line dater since 2007, when a friend convinced me to sign up for a site. Okay, perhaps I wasn't avid at first. Honestly, it scared the bejesus out of me to tack up a photo, description, and admit that yes, I was single. Worse yet, people started contacting me and asking me out. As a serial monogamist up until that time who had never attempted to actually date, it felt like a meat market.
But I've grown up, and online dating reminds me more of a produce stand than a meat market, and as a vegetarian, I'm pretty close to seventh heaven. I've definitely upped the ranks, now considering myself at JV dating status, and am actively aiming to earn my Varsity letter by the end of the 2012. How? Well, I'm currently on a road trip across the country, going on a first date in every state.
In the past five years I've run the gamut of Facebook relationship status updates, from single to in a relationship, and while I never told anyone via social media I've certainly been in the "it's complicated" situation plenty. But I've had wise friends (and Dan Savage) offering me ideas on how to succeed, and I've had a plethora of experience to feel comfortable offering my own thoughts on the dating scene. And as my friends will tell you, I'm maybe too comfortable to tell people how to manage their online dating and how to have successful first dates.
So why am I single? Mostly by choice so I could explore America's dating scene. Partly because the last guy I was dating broke up with me. And a little bit because well, I think there's a lot to be said for using first dates to learn about myself and get a good perspective on the studs and spuds of my past.
Thanks for reading - it's going to be an epic adventure!
#nerdsunite
Alicia Ostarello has combined her talents in talking to strangers with degrees in English and Sociology and is currently taking a road trip across the country with one goal in mind: to go on a first date in every single state. Follow her trip and the documentary film being produced about it, 50/50: A Dating Documentary on Facebook at facebook.com/5050ADatingDocumentary.