“I’d Never Been Kissed Until I Was 32.” A Young Woman Went on Her First Date as an Adult, and Her Story Resonated With Thousands of Women

Allora Campbell is 32 years old, lives in New York, works for a biotechnology company, and writes books at night. The charming young woman likes gardening, traveling, dogs, superhero stories, and reads any fiction she can get her hands on. Also, until recently, Allora had never been kissed and had avoided dating like the plague.

Allora grew up in a large family.

Allora grew up on a horse farm. She was the eldest of 10 siblings, and they were all home-schooled. Campbell says it was an extraordinary experience, and she still gets inspiration from those times when writing books.

Her mother named her Allora Dannon after the princess from the fantasy film Willow, released in 1988. Although Allora’s parents raised her with classic literature, she herself notes that she grew up to be a romantic girl with her head always in the clouds.

Allora believed that in real life, just like in Hollywood movies, a man must desperately pursue the love of the woman he likes. Or that the paths of two people destined for each other will cross at some point, and they will live happily ever after. But, unfortunately, nothing like that happened in her life. When she was in her early 20s, she fell in love, but her feelings were unreciprocated.

Romantic fantasies prevented her from building relationships in real life.

Campbell lost all faith in true love. Allora felt that if she was unable to meet the right man, she must be unworthy of it or that there was something wrong with her. So she decided to devote her life to other things. She traveled a lot and put all her energy into her career.

One day, Allora decided to try to find her soulmate online. She installed a dating app but received such disgusting messages from the men on there that she immediately deleted the app without ever having gotten a date. Allora felt she didn’t conform to society’s view of what building a personal life should be all about.

Allora admits to falling victim to stereotypes. She waited for her prince charming, and when he still hadn’t come years later, she started doubting herself. Time passed, and she just wasn’t meeting that special person and had never even kissed a man in her life.

Allora got tired of drifting with the current and decided to change her life.

She spent the winter holidays with her beloved dog, whom she calls her mini-direwolf. And at one point, she suddenly realized that if she did nothing right now, the situation would never change.

She liked her life, but she wanted to try dating someone. Allora decided that, first, she had to get over her fear of dating and only then start thinking about eternal love. So she downloaded the app again and started looking for a suitable candidate.

The young woman was so nervous ahead of her first date that the whole way there she sang “I Have Confidence” from The Sound of Music. But her fears were unfounded — the young man turned out to be tactful and charming. He was respectful of the fact that Allora had never been on a date before, and they even met a few more times after their successful first date. And yes, they kissed. Allora admitted that it was a very pleasant experience.

She hopes her story can help others too.

Allora had never really shared her personal problems with anyone. But a successful date gave her courage and she decided to post her story on social media. She was simply amazed at the number of people who had faced similar difficulties.

“I thought I was the only person in the world going through this. It feels like you’re carrying a deep, dark secret. It made me braver saying it out loud. It’s not something I’m embarrassed about anymore,” said Allora. Now she wants others to also know that it’s never too late to start dating.

For many years, Allora was more concerned about other people’s opinions than her own happiness, and in this way, she was only hurting herself. Instead of taking matters into her own hands, she directed her energies toward other things and simply drifted with the current. Sometimes she feels like she’s wasted 15 years of her life trying to realize that real-life relationships are nothing like what’s portrayed in the movies.

But Allora believes it’s never too late to change your life. She says, “I’d never been kissed until I was 32,” adding, “There’s no timeline. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. There is nothing wrong with coming to dating or romance at a later stage.”