The Importance of Being Lauren

I lived in NYC during the pandemic. It was a very stressful time to be in the city, and I spent a lot of it completely alone. As the restrictions started getting lifted in mid 2022 I decided that it was time to try my hand at dating. My social anxiety had gotten so bad during my break from people and I had gained a ton of weight from stress eating. After catching COVID a few times I was sure that I had permanently destroyed my lungs, but I met a really nice guy on Hinge and we planned a hiking date in upstate New York. He was driving in from Jersey and I took the train up to Cold Springs from Manhattan. I was worried about not being able to hike because I had not engaged in physical activity outside of walking for at least a year. I guess I should have been more afraid of potentially getting murdered, and I was a bit but not enough to not go. The walk from the train to the trailhead winded me and I started to dread the meet up. We started chatting and walking and I needed breaks almost...