Abby Connolly
Have you ever been in a position where you’ve struggled to make friends? These days, there are a lot of new resources for making friends through apps or social media groups, but sometimes there is nothing like meeting a new friend face-to-face.
One woman has been documenting her experience as she tries to fulfill her 2023 New Year’s Resolution, which is to have dinner with a stranger every Thursday so she can make some friends.
Jessie Wright (@jssirite) lives in Melbourne, Australia, and has gone viral for her videos that document her new Thursday night activity.
Right before the COVID-19 pandemic caused the world to go into lockdown, Jessie moved to Melbourne with her boyfriend. However, she and her boyfriend eventually broke up, leaving her very lonely.
“It’s so hard to make friends as an adult,” Jessie says in one of her videos.
Tired of feeling alone in a big city, Jessie decided to post on her public Instagram and TikTok accounts, asking if anyone in her area would like to go out to dinner with her as a way of making new friends.
She decided that she’d pick a new stranger to go out to dinner with every Thursday in hopes that by the end of the year, she could potentially have up to 52 new friends.
Jessie’s first dinner friend was just as nervous as she was, but they had a lovely outing. They chatted about their lives and marketing jobs and split some french fries.
After filming a video about her first dinner, Jessie’s story went viral, and new followers started chiming in, offering to go to dinner with her.
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