Brendan and Jessica met at the Rotunda at 7:00 p.m. and went to The Biltmore on the Corner.
Jessica: I was walking to O’Hill for dinner when I saw the table for Love Connection… So I signed up. Also, I like trying new things and I thought it would be an interesting way to meet a new person.
Brendan: I was just walking by the dining hall one morning and was asked to sign up and I thought, “Hey, why not?”
Jessica: It’s funny because when I signed up, I didn’t know The Cavalier Daily was the one responsible for Love Connection and that there would be an article about our date in the newspaper. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the intimate details of my date being published for all to see.
Brendan: I was a little nervous [when I was chosen] because I had never been on a blind date before. I had absolutely no expectations.
Jessica: I didn’t want to go in worrying that it was going to be a bad date because I believe in the power of a self-fulfilling prophecy. However, at the same time, I didn’t want to go in believing I was going to meet my soulmate and set myself up to be disappointed.
Brendan: I figured at least it would be an interesting story to tell.
Jessica: I got [to the Rotunda] a little bit before him and was waiting on a bench. I saw him walk up and it looked like he was searching for someone. I went up to him and asked for his name and if he was here for Love Connection.
Brendan: She actually walked up to me and asked if I was Brendan, which was pretty gutsy considering I may have not been Brendan.
Jessica: I haven’t been out to the Corner a lot, so I let him decide where we were going to eat.
Brendan: We tried to go to Mellow Mushroom because I love it and she’d never been there. We ended up going to The Biltmore where we had a quieter dinner — Mellow Mushroom was packed.
Jessica: There was hardly anyone there, so it was nice and quiet, which allowed us to carry on a conversation comfortably. The food was really good and the service was awesome. He picked a really good place for a first date.
Brendan: [Upon first impression] I was pretty conflicted; I didn’t really know how to feel. It was briefly awkward, but then almost immediately, we began talking and it wasn’t awkward.
Jessica: I had a really good first impression. He was on time and dressed nice. Throughout the night, he was nothing but a gentleman. He always held open the door, gave me the option to pick where we were going to eat and he paid for my meal. Furthermore, he was really sweet.
Brendan: The conversation was very lively and intellectual. We seemed to be on about the same level intellectually, and both parties were talking a lot.
Jessica: I had to stop myself a couple of times from taking over the conversation, but for the most part, it was pretty well balanced. Once we left the restaurant, we decided to walk around a bit. As we walked, the conversation began to flow more naturally and we started talking about some more serious things.
Brendan: We are both pre-med and all three of our Match.com question answers [on the Love Connection survey] matched.
Jessica: We talked about some of the stuff we’ve learned from our premed classes. It was nice to know that he was comfortable engaging in more intellectual matters.
Brendan: I paid for the dinner, we took a walk and then I walked her back to her dorm.
Jessica: I don’t feel like there was flirting going on.
Brendan: For me at least, it was mostly a friend vibe.
Jessica: I could see us going out again. I’m not sure if it would progress into anything more than a friend, though I’m not closed to the possibility. I would rate the date an 8.
Brendan: I didn’t believe there was a romantic connection, but there was a very strong intellectual connection. I would probably give the date a 7.
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