And no, this is not about a Facebook course.

Last December, I got dumped after a five-month digital “situation.”
I texted, “Can we at least talk about it?”
One checkmark. Blocked.

Rejection I can handle.
But no communication? That’s my biggest nightmare.

“A situation is a semi-exclusive arrangement with optional commitment, no clear expiration date and no return policy.”
— according to my trendy 18-year-old niece Faye.

After a bottle of wine, a pack of cigarettes (both things I hadn’t touched in years), and a long night hugging the toilet bowl, I gave myself a kick in the ass.

For the first time in my 17 years of being single — and holding a subscription to “emotionally unavailable men” — I decided to do it differently. No more shouting “all men are jerks” and crawling back under the same rock.

Instead, I examined my own part in the dynamic.

Because you know what they say:
Once is coincidence.
Twice is questionable.
Three times is a pattern.

The investigation felt like a 5,000-piece puzzle made entirely of tiny blue sky fragments. But somewhere in the process, something shifted.

I actually started wanting to date.

Not from lack. Not from emptiness.
But from adventure.
And mostly — to get to know myself better.

So I downloaded Tinder. Just to see if there was still… interest. I took out a paid subscription (you immediately see who liked you — I assumed it would save me a lot of swiping time).

And then…

Within ten days, I had 9,999+ likes 😳
That’s the highest number Tinder shows.

Sounds fun, right?
But… how?

(For the record, my ego grew to the size of Buddha’s belly during those ten days and barely fit through the front door. You can imagine.)

What I know now is this: even rejection and being blocked can deliver enormous insight.

And that insight completely changed the foundation of my Tinder adventures.

This time, I don’t feel like a slave to love.

I feel like a queen of swipes. 😁 👑

I would genuinely love to thank the man who blocked me in December.

He gave me far more than I could ever have wished for.