Have you ever had an interaction with someone from across a public space where you make eye contact and have a little moment, but you never go over and introduce yourself until it is too late. For me, it always happens on vacation where there is someone around my age and my type in the same place as me, but because we probably don’t share the same area code, I never go up and introduce myself. This occurrence is very cheesy in the sense that almost every romcom starts out with this same movie trope, and ,of course, after you see them, you can’t get them out of your mind. This situation is tragic in a way because other than what the person looks like and where you met, there is really no way of finding them again, or is there?

           A missed connection is defined by a type of personal advertisement which arises after two people meet but are too shy or otherwise unable to exchange contact details. Many people have used Cragslist ads in major cities like New York, San Francisco, and Seattle to find the person they saw on the train, at the gym or supermarket. The idea of finding a missed connection has such a kind hearted feeling around it which makes me feel sort of like reality is more like a movie than I thought. So, in light of celebrating the holiday of love, I am going to review some of people’s ads, and try to give them some pointers that may aid them in their search.

 Starting strong, we have “the man who opened a door for a woman”, he said “I was leaving Rite Aid last night around 6:30 you were the attractive Asian woman who I held the door for, and you were so nice giving me a big thank you and a nice smile. I was the tall attractive white guy with green eyes. Should have talked to you while I had the chance”. Honestly, this isn’t too bad; I was liking it up until “attractive white guy”. There is just something about you tooting your own horn about what you look like that is off putting. Besides that, you complimented the lady’s smile which is always the perfect thing to point out. It is really nice and not too creepy, so props to you for being a gentleman. Overall, I rate this one a 8/10.

Next, there is “butterfly hat person” who said “Me wearing butterfly hat and glasses, you from Santa Cruz on bike. We had a deep conversation about the skateboarding epidemic of all things and would like to continue another conversation. San Francisco is moving at a different pace”. This person has no time to waste, and correct grammar isn’t something he or she deemed important. They have places to go, skateboarders to criticize, people to see, and possibly reconnect with. I like the anonymity of saying, “San Francisco is moving at a different pace” because of how vague and mysterious it is, especially because it alludes to absolutely nothing that will help with reconnecting with that person. I would rate this one a 7/10.

Now, here is an example of a man that has no idea how creepy he was, “I was the guy in the car driving next to you we kept looking at each other and you was with your boyfriend or husband and we kept looking at each other i winked at you a couple of times and you just looked at me, but I could tell we had a connection if you see this and are interested to chat and meet get back to me”. This man has no idea how creepy this whole thing is. First off let’s start with the fact that she looked like she was in a relationship, but you still essentially followed her in the car and probably made her uncomfortable. I don’t think he had any intention of being weird because of how convinced he seemed on the ad that they had a connection, but either way, he seemed unsettling. From the wise words of Tyra Banks, “it is so bad that I want to give it a zero, but that’s not possible so I give it a one”, because nothing about following someone is romantic especially if you know that they are already taken.

   This one was interesting because they were on the search for a little special someone called “Corvette Fanny Pack Grandma”. The searcher said “You are the granny with the Corvette fanny pack at Disney World. You were visiting with some friends from Baltimore and you called yourself a “cougar” at one point during our 1st convo. We parted ways after our 2nd convo where you explained that you lost your big toe at a hot dog eating contest, and after you ate ice cream with your friends I watched you limp away without me having your number”. Now this lady sounds like she is living her best life in the best way possible, but I noticed a lack of description on the writer’s behalf that would affect how the lady could identify you. This lady could have been talking to every person she bumped into, so how would she be able to know which person you were from that day? I thought Corvette Fanny Pack Grandma sounded like fun, so just for her I give you a 10/10.

After looking over almost one hundred personal ads over the country, I was able to understand the heart wrenching situations people find themselves in. It usually starts off with a “this is a long shot” because everyone knows that their chances of seeing that person again is slim. Many times it consists of others looking for their long lost friend or family from the 80s, and all they have is their name and memories they made from long ago to remember. This phenomenon is truly eye opening to society’s tendency to regret what they never did and is sort of inspiring to remember that you need to seize your chances in every moment because you might not have a chance to reverse your missed connection.