From Home to Home

When I moved to the United States, dating was honestly not at the top of my list.

I had just moved across the world, started graduate school, and was still trying to figure out life in a completely new country. Between classes, learning my way around campus, adjusting to the weather, trying to understand how everything worked, and missing home, I already had enough going on.

But after a few weeks, once things started to feel a little less overwhelming, I finally downloaded Tinder.

And yes, I know some of you are probably raising your eyebrows right now. 😂 We all know what Tinder is famous for.

But honestly, I wasn’t on there with some grand dating plan.

I was mostly bored.

A little curious.

And maybe just interested in seeing what dating in America was actually like.

Because I was mainly there out of boredom, I didn’t put much effort into my profile either. It was very minimal. A few pictures, barely any information, and definitely no carefully written bio trying to impress anyone.

I really wasn’t taking the whole thing that seriously.

At first, it was kind of entertaining.

There are so many people on dating apps.

You open the app and suddenly there are endless profiles. Different personalities, different pictures, different bios, and people from all kinds of backgrounds.

I got a few matches here and there and had some conversations.

Some started with the usual:

“Hey.”

“How are you?”

“Where are you from?”

And then, just as quickly as they started, some of those conversations disappeared.

A few matches.

A few conversations.

No actual dates.

Which is kind of funny when you think about it.

You can have what feels like hundreds of people right there on your phone and somehow still not actually meet anyone in person. 😂

Some conversations lasted a day or two. Some just fizzled out. Some people seemed interesting at first and then… not so much.

And honestly, I was fine with that.

At that point, Tinder was really just something I opened when I had a little time to kill between classes, assignments, and trying to settle into my new life.

I definitely wasn’t sitting there thinking,

This is where I’m going to meet someone important.

I wasn’t looking for a husband.

I wasn’t even sure I was looking for a boyfriend.

I had come to America for graduate school.

That was the plan.

But apparently, life had already started making its own plans.

Because eventually, one match came along that was a little different.

And that match would end up changing the entire story.