After
receiving a number of dull and un-original messages on the dating website you
decided to try out, finally, to your surprise there was a message that stood
out, that was real and not generic for a change. So of course you joyfully
responded and that signified the beginning of a relationship (there’s a reason
I’m avoiding describing it as ‘wonderful’). You
have spent hours upon hours talking to him over messages and most importantly
on Skype where you have even left your cameras on while sleeping so that you
get that satisfaction that you have somehow spent the night together. Skype has
enabled you to cook together, watch movies together, to listen to him singing soothing
songs to you when you needed someone to help you calm down, to read the bible
together, to feel each other’s presence during busy times of the day by leaving
your cameras on whilst being preoccupied with other things.
After
months of talking nearly 24/7, the time has finally come for the grand face to
face meeting. Tickets have been booked
(you are scared of flying so he’s flying to you), plans and dreams have been
made, excitement and expectations are high since declarations of love have been repeatedly made over Skype. You expected
your first meeting to be something like out of a movie; your eyes would meet
amongst the crowd at the airport and you would run towards each other in slow
motion into the biggest, most romantic hug in the world, followed of course by
a passionate kiss.
However, life is not a movie, and Skype is not
real life. Yes there was an awkward like hug, because even though you have
spent countless hours talking and getting to know each other, sharing your
deepest thoughts and feelings, at the end of the day you were both “hiding”
behind a camera. When you are chatting
to someone over Skype, or any other form of video calling, you cannot really
determine whether or not there’s any chemistry between you, any physical
attraction. You fall in love with an
image, with the psychological support they offer that you so desperately need,
with their bubbly personality. Don’t get
me wrong, that relationship could turn out to be the best relationship you’ve
ever had, he could even be “the one”, the so called love of your life.
Nevertheless,
let me get real with you, when you are both “hiding” behind a camera then you
don’t notice, hear or smell the end result of any sort of bodily function or
any unpleasant odour. Should you need
your space then you can very easily turn the camera off and that person goes
away until either one of you wishes to commence chatting again (which doesn't happen in real life!). You don’t see
their clumsiness, their messiness and their awkward interactions with other
people due to the fact that they suffer from social anxiety and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). All in all, you don’t see the real person.
When you finally meet in real life there’s no chemistry, there’s no attraction
and you’re left wondering what went wrong, why you don’t feel anything for that
person when you felt like you were on top of the world when talking to them on
Skype.
Don’t
worry though, that is just one scenario out of the many that can take place
when meeting your online love interest.
Word of advice though, keep everything at a realistic level; your
expectations, your enthusiasm, your plans and dreams so that when you do see
them face to face, when your eyes do meet through the crowd, then you just
might be pleasantly surprised.