Dry January? How about “Try January?”

The first month of a new year always comes with plenty of pressure to make major life changes, be they intended to be permanent or just for the 31 days of January. In a typical year, gym memberships, divorces and diets all experience a surge and folks looking to seriously trim down sometimes explore all three.

I’m a person who views the first day of every month, or even week, as an opportunity to try something new and I generally don’t subscribe to New Year’s Resolutions (those would be upper case letters, right?) but, this year, I decided it was time to do something different. I wanted to challenge myself. Perhaps even push myself beyond my usual level of comfort.

I decided that I was going to…date.

In honor of this new year, I’ve mentally committed to going on 22 first dates.

Yep, I’m going to put myself out there and explore the romantic possibilities that are coming my way via match.com, thoughtful mutual friends and random real life chances. So, it’ll be walks, coffee dates and cocktails for the foreseeable future for me.

Why am I doing this to myself? Well, last year taught me a few things that continue to resonate. One of the key things that I learned (relearned?) is that there’s no predicting chemistry and online dating profiles don’t provide enough information to necessarily determine who might hold some appeal when you are actually in the same physical place.

What do I mean?

Well, for me, voice, gait and smell are all factors that either attract or repel me. Does that make me shallow? So be it. I can live with that title a lot easier than I can coexist with a person whose voice irritates me.  

My dating experiences in 2021 also confirmed to me that the criteria I profess to find important (things like minimum height or physical proximity to Albany) aren’t really factors when I meet someone who truly stimulates and excites me. 

So, to truly determine someone’s potential to play a recurring role in my life, it seems I need to have an in person experience. Instead of Dry January, I’ll give Try January a chance, more than likely with a beverage. You know I’ll keep you posted, so stay tuned.

How about you? Do you have anything new in mind for this new year? Any plans or resolutions to share?