the Urban Dater

This is the very first WordPress website I built. It was a side project that always remained a side project, the Urban Dater. It was a blog that wasn't just a blog. It was a platform. It was a vehicle of sorts—it introduced me to some amazing humans and took me to a few places I never expected. It's something I'm proud of that I put my time into.

It's time to shutter the Urban Dater. It was a place for strangers to post what was in their hearts, what they learned from dating, how they learned to love, how they hurt, how they lost, how they lived through and with all of it.

I grew a lot here. I read my first post on this blog, and it fucking sucked, lol. As my writing voice evolved, I learned I could be authentic and share my innermost thoughts. With some work, I could weave my stories into something compelling here. You can see it. I processed a lot of pain here, and while it was helpful, it was good medicine until it wasn't. I was holding on to this thing that needed to be let go.

So I'm letting this go so I can do the next thing. I'll miss you bunches, UD.

I think it's important to have independent places where we can share our learnings, wisdom, and heartaches and be able to speak our hearts to the people we can't speak to otherwise; that's an important freedom we all should have access to. This blog was that for me.

I was afraid to shut this site down. I was afraid to let go. But I gotta be brave and whatnot and do the thing. I have to trust that the lessons I learned while I was busy making mistakes and fucking it up have taken root. I need to prove to my loved ones that their belief in me is well-placed, and most of all, I need to prove that to myself… That's a scary thing, but that's also life. Making decisions and living with what happens next…

Now, to you. To those of you who shared bits of your journey here, I thank you for sharing your stories, pain, and growth. You bled it, and people read it. Some of you absolutely spilled it all on this blog. I learned so much from so many strangers. I thank you for your contributions to this site.

To those of you who collaborated with me on this blog, it's been a minute. You shaped this thing; you taught me so much, and while I can never repay your contributions, know that they were always appreciated, and I respected your talent so much!

Thank you for spending your time here in whatever way you did. You shaped what this thing was and left your mark.

Thank you again! I appreciate you, and I love you. That is all.

— Alex

Did I ever tell you the one about the Knuckleball?

Love is forever; but time moves on.