I have been single for six months now. In this time I have been doing anything and everything that my heart desires. Not worrying about anyone else. Just having fun and staying busy.

During that time I have met girls here and there, nothing serious. It seems that in Richmond if you are not part of the typical “lesbian crowd” that there is no getting in. Almost like being an outsider in high school looking into a world that you should belong to but do not exactly seem to connect with, which makes it hard to meet people after a while.

With all this in mind, I took on the mentality that being single really is great because it means freedom to do anything that you want. With good company from friends, and too many hobbies to keep up with the time gets easily filled up.

In the past months I have been meeting women here and there, re-connecting with a few from my past, but not getting into anything serious. I think that in all this time the one thing that I have learned above the rest is to keep an open mind and give people a chance.

Often times this is a hard thing to do as we all make judgments and have opinions. After being the person that is often being judged, I have been trying to save that for after I have at least had a conversation with someone – especially when it comes to dating and meeting people.

This may have been the best thing that I have learned in a long time. This past weekend I went out with someone. I’m not even sure if it was a date. I kept an open mind and before I knew it the conversation was flowing smoothly and I was laughing harder than I have in a long time. Of course since there are two women, there are a few bumps here and there, but I am keeping an open mind. Sometimes that is what is needed to get from one point to the next, and from everyone that you are with there is something to be had whether it’s good or bad.

In the tangled web of lesbian dating I think that an open mind might be the easiest way to get from one date to the next.

Lucy Lipstick blogs about her dating experiences from a lesbian perspective every Friday on GayRVA.

Lucy Lipstick was once a single girl, living in Richmond. She found love, and could no longer write about the meeting and greeting of prospective dates. Now she is living life, and writing about the everyday things that occur in the life of a lipstick lady living in the RIC. E-mail Lucy at lipsticklucy11@gmail.com.