Our Story
Sadé Jovanne
"you can be happy as a single person and still want to share that with someone special"
I first created a dating app profile in 2015 while enrolled in grad school. Yes, I was focused on my studies and pursuing my career - but I also was a romantic who wanted cute dates in autumn and a loving marriage. In some ways, I feel like I was created to be a wife and start my own family. It's not everyone's thing - but it was a value to me.
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The dating apps were...well, an adventure. Lots of swiping to yield only 2% of profiles that had some semblance of promise. Conversations would begin, only to find a mismatch of values or to be ghosted all together. Ugh, the ghosting. That was the worst part.
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After a date or two with someone that piqued my interest, it would fizzle away - again, due to a mismatch in values. I was looking for depth and substance, and my suitors would either have a different vision of what that meant, or they were simply "playing the part" to get a quick fix to their boredom and loneliness.
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If you've been on the apps, you are familiar with what happens next: delete, rinse, repeat. For me, this journey went on for about 7 years. I tried them all: Hinge, Bumble, Coffee Meets Bagel, OK Cupid, Facebook Dating... And to be honest, I did meet some cool people out there. I think that's what kept me going.
Over time, my close friends met their spouses either through online dating or random introductions in the wild. I started to wonder about this magical equation of "meeting your person." How does it happen? How are some people finding connections with such ease, while others are chopping their way through the jungle, dying of thirst? I joke, but that's what it felt like at times. Hard. Lonely. Isolating. Over time, you attend less weddings and more baby showers. You see friends celebrating milestones, but yours feel out of your control.
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Well-meaning folks will say,
"it comes when you aren't trying" or "just be happy in your singleness."
But that's the thing: I was happy. I was fulfilled in my career, traveling overseas (shoutout to FTLO Travel for my first solo/group international trip!) . In fact, it was through a group travel trip with FTLO (For the Love of Travel) that I discovered there were more people like me: people way past the college stage who were single, thriving, but still desired a loving partnership. Over these meals, we learned about each other and did all of the fun sightseeing that some folks usually have as bucket list honeymoon trips. We'd gather over a meal, try a brand new cultural food, and swap stories from the day.
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Now enter: Mesa Gatherings.
Mesa Gatherings
Mesa means table in Spanish. I chose this name because it reflects the image of sitting at a table, filled with delicious, multicultural food, and share an experience with others. I hope that some of you find romance, love and companionship through a Mesa Gathering. And where romantic attraction isn't present, I hope you can find the types of friendships that give you a sense of community: others who are in a similar season of life that you can share a meal with, go on a trip together, or simply do life side-by-side.