It was summer 2019 and my colleagues and I were visiting Washington D.C. for our annual staff retreat. Personal and professional development is one of my favorite things in life, but what I enjoyed most during the days and nights spent in DC were opportunities to connect with employees that I don’t see or work with regularly. To my surprise, Bumble was a commonality among many, and I started to feel some serious FOMO, also known as “Fear of Missing Out.” Many of the employees who were in a relationship met their partners on Bumble and those who weren’t already taken were searching on the app. I didn’t give in immediately, but I stayed in town longer to catch up with one of my college friends who was living in the area for her doctoral program at Howard University. Before the weekend was over I had downloaded the app and began swiping.

It wasn’t my first experience with Bumble; I had used Bumble BFF before, but I was skeptical about the dating side of the app, specifically that I had to make the first move. Also part of me wanted to meet someone offline, “the normal way,” at an event or grocery store or something. The more I swiped the more comfortable I was because only guys that had my permission could even message me. I was in control, and I like to be in control :) or at least have a sense of it. I continued swiping every day until there were no more matches in my “beehive,” and although I didn’t find love at first BOOM… or the second or third and eventually lost track of the count, I did gain some interesting stories, experiences and a little validation along the way. It’s one year later; our 2020 staff retreat has come and gone and I’m still very single. As I reflect on life in the land of bees I’m sharing my strategy, what I learned about digital dating and more.