Need stories of late bloomer dating experiences?

[Jay B]

I didn't even have a single date until I was 19, no holding hands, no first kiss, nothing. So I know how you feel!
Everyone always tells you to go at your own pace, that it's normal, you'll find someone eventually, etc. etc. but MAN it sucked being single for my whole teenage life! By the time I had my first girlfriend, my little sister had been with her boyfriend for 4 years, my little brother had been involved with 3 girls. I felt totally behind and pretty embarrassed.

But when I found her, she turned out to be perfect. She understood that I hadn't had a relationship before, so we went really slow at first. She was a friend-of-a-friend who I honestly just thought was cool. I asked my friend if we could invite her to hang out with us more as a group, and from there we hung out more and became friends on Facebook, and eventually started hanging out one-on-one. And then eventually dating!

Three years later and we're still just as happy and excited as day one! I attribute this huge success to being more outgoing and confident-- I didn't have any kind of confidence (thanks to being the only one of my friends who wasn't a virgin, let alone one who hadn't kissed anyone before) but I decided to go out of my safe-zone and start believing in myself more. I saw a girl I thought was cool and pretty, so I did what I'd never done before and stepped out of my box to get to know her. For me, it paid off.
I didn't force myself into relationships I wasn't interested in, but when I saw something I WAS interested in pursuing, I didn't hesitate.

Now I can say with confidence that you WILL meet someone, but on your own time. Rushing into a relationship only creates negative situations, and serial-dating gets tedious. Focus on yourself and just start tying to make new friends, that way you'll expose yourself to a lot of new people, but without the awkwardness of blind dating. Expand your horizons and get to know new people. Likewise, exude confidence! That attracts people like a magnet.