Graphic by Kinsey Ratzman ’21
BY GRACE FITZGERALD ’20
MoRomance is back and better than ever! For our first date of the semester, we sent sophomore Quinn* and junior Maxine* to the newly-renovated Blanchard Great Room for a puzzle-making activity sponsored by the Makerspace. Quinn, an artsy workaholic, described themself as not easily trusting but open to trying something new. They seemed like a good match for Maxine, a funny environmentalist who was looking for a hard worker with a sense of humor. The two met in the Great Room to get crafty and, just maybe, find love. Here’s what happened:
Quinn: Going into this date, I was thinking that the
best case scenario was that I would make a new friend,
the worst case scenario was that I would get a good story
out of it. But when I first got to the date, I thought that
she was really cute. That was one of the first things that
I said to her. I was kind of shocked.
Maxine: I was definitely going on the date for fun.
I think we both came in with really low expectations.
When we met, it was way less odd than I anticipated it
would be. MoRomance told us to wear green, so it was
easy to find one another. It was odd that the date was a
Makerspace event, so there were more people there than
I would have expected.
Quinn: The Makerspace had 3-D printed these animal
puzzles out of cardboard for us to put together. It was an
odd event to try to get to know someone in because we
would be having a conversation and people would butt in.
I thought it was funny; it was like a group date.
Maxine: The vibe seemed really chill, we were both
definitely there for fun. We seem to have similar social
lives; we are both a little bit shy but generally like to go
out, meet people and have fun. I think we made sense as
a match; we’re different but have enough in common so
that we weren’t at each other’s throats or anything.
Quinn: I wouldn’t pick this sort of date for myself, but
I’m not opposed to doing it again. I think you’re supposed
to do interesting and unusual activities on dates, so it
was overall a good choice.
Maxine: The activity we had to do ended up being re-
ally cute and fun. It was really different than anything I
would do, not even in my dating life, but in my personal
life as well. We got along pretty well, it was nice to be
with someone who is easy to talk to. In that sense, it was
more like a typical date.
Quinn: During the date, we built this woolly mam-
moth out of cardboard and painted it. We tried to paint
it as fast as we could to sort of get out of there. I think it
was a mutual agreement that we wanted to have our own
time away from the other people at the event.
Maxine: They seem like they are a little more ad-
venturous than I am. They seem very different from me;
they study different things, so we don’t necessarily have
the same interests. I think it’s really interesting to talk
to someone from a really different background than me.
Quinn: The date’s turning point was when we decid-
ed that we should leave the Great Room and head some-
where else to be alone. It was sort of a signal, or a sign
that we mutually had. We took a walk around Lower Lake
and talked for a while. The vibe was hesitant but playful.
It was a good kind of tension. I really like her optimism
towards life. She said the words “cool” and “cute” a
lot; I thought that was really funny. We both love
running and really care about sustainability. She’s
into economic sustainability in particular.
Maxine: We mostly talked about “get to
know your date” questions, and we also talk-
ed to the other people there, too. It was nice.
We were both looking to get out of there and it
was a nice night so we both walked for a little while.
We both had stuff planned for after the date, so I just
went to my friend’s dorm afterwards.
Quinn: I was surprised that we had matched be-
cause, interestingly, we hadn’t met before. It’s ex-
citing to meet someone you’ve never met before in a
college this small. We live close to each other so we’ll
probably be seeing each other a lot now.
Maxine: I think I had seen Quinn around before but
didn’t really know them that well. They seem cool. I
didn’t really think they were my type initially, but when I
was talking to my friends later, they were like, “they are
so your type.” I think that maybe my type is all over the
place, or maybe I’m just in denial.
Quinn: We didn’t actually talk about seeing each
other again, but I did get her number and her Facebook.
I would hang out with her again; I’m not quite sure what
we would do. I don’t know if the next time I’ll see her will
be an actual date, or just bumping into each other on
campus. Overall, I think the results were positive.
Maxine: We talked about weekend plans vaguely. I
think we might meet again but only in passing. I had a
really good time. They are a really cool person; I was glad
to meet them.
MoRomance is a student-run matchmaking service run by Flori Needle ’20, Gina Perry ’20, Grace Fitzgerald ’20 and Maya Rhode ’20. These interviews have been condensed and edited for clarity. To sign up for MoRomance, visit mountholyokenews.com/moromance. *Names have been changed for anonymity.