After about a half year of trying to calm my anxiety when just talking to girls I find attractive, today was one of the most rewarding days of finally throwing caution to the wind. I’m sitting in my seat, waiting for everyone else to board the plane and the girl I noticed at the gate (probably the only other solo flyer in the Tampa airport my age) places her things above me and slides into the seat next to me, essentially sealing my fate for another awkward time with someone I consider out of my league... except this time was different.

A little side story... After a while of beating myself up I got fed up with being stagnant. I hit the gym, focused more on my studies, and took more time to pursue my hobbies. After regaining a sense of “me” I made a Tinder and let’s just say my confidence with the opposite sex was boosted very quickly. I started matching with girls I’ve always considered out of my league, so naturally I’ve gotten more comfortable with the idea these girls are interested in talking to me at the very least.

Returning to the current story, I finally said “fuck it, I’m not gonna sit here for this entire flight and wonder what could have been” and made a quick joke about how she’s still in flip flops and shorts and the temperature back in the Midwest won’t agree with the outfit she was in. To which she jokingly replied, “well if that’s how you’re gonna start the flight I might switch back to my seat between those two sweaty guys” and we laughed.

We ended up spending the entire 2 and a half hour flight talking about a lot and had good, meaningful conversation. It turns out she was in FL for a modeling shoot with Victoria’s Secret. I told her how much I’d like to see the places she goes and we added each other on Snapchat and, as we found through our conversation, her school is between my home, where I’m at on break, and my school. She suggested I stop halfway for lunch with her on my way back!

Moral of my story, keep plugging away gents. Girls do want to talk, and sometimes a Victoria’s Secret model may be studying the same major, and have similar passions as you, and would love to talk about them with someone just as passionate. This “forced” conversation ended up being one of the most pleasant, uplifting, and eye opening things that has happened to me in a while.