Reposting because I’m an idiot and forgot to include my age. Whoops!

Hello, eligible gentlemen of reddit!

I don't really know where I fit or who my people are - I just know them individually when I find them. I love gentle, caring and deeply kind people. All of the people I'm closest with have this sort of energy and it gives me life, makes me think and challenges me to be better. I'm told I have a very calm energy and make people feel safe, even though my mind can be a chaotic place to live within (who else has some mild anxiety going on? Better question - who doesn't?) I want someone who challenges me to be better every day - not by design, but just by their way of existing in the world. And I hope I can offer the same.

I love the gym and working out, but my physique wouldn't tell you that (I'm not thin). Don't underestimate me, though. I can currently deadlift 245 lbs (and counting), shoulder press 100 lbs and bench 157, and I'm barely at the beginning of my weightlifting journey with a huge amount of potential in me (my back squat is questionable as I navigate tendonitis and fix form!). I'm also a SCUBA diver and lifting makes all the diving I do that much easier. It's important to me that the person I date also enjoys fitness and adventures. I'm going to Hawaii for diving later this year, and I've entered into my first powerlifting competition, which I'm now training for. Yosemite with friends is on the agenda next year for day hiking. I love to kayak when I get the chance. Also love ocean swimming and snorkeling - really anything to do with being in the water.

I am a deep thinker and deeply introspective, a verbal processor who loves having feelings and talking about them (you will have to embrace and love this about me because it won't change - I can promise you will never have to read my mind because I will just tell you what's on it). But I don't have a pretentious bone in my body; instead I bring plenty of spunk and sass and I will absolutely tease you mercilessly. So I often don't fit in with the hippie, granola "deep thinker" crowd, who always has their nose in philosophy and mindfulness books. I do need a partner with depth, though. I can't spend a ton of time talking about the boring and mundane. I want to know what makes people tick, I want to ask big questions that don't have answers, I want to dive into the connective tissue of who you are.

I love musical theatre - nothing is better than a night watching a performance unfold on stage. And I sing and at one point wanted to be on stage. But I never really fit in with the theatre nerds either. Believe me, I tried! I did improv classes for a while but it just never felt like the right place for me.

I'm deeply emotionally sensitive - it's my super power. But I'm also very extroverted and find time with my people life giving. Fun fact: this puts me in 6% of the population, if research on HSP is to be trusted. So not many that I relate to on that level, and that can be hard.

I'm on reddit, but I am not a video game player, anime watcher, stereotypical nerd, or homebody. So do I really even fit in here?

If you can't tell by my post, I tend to often feel like an outsider, a perpetual wallflower, except when I'm with the people I love. And I'd like to find someone who loves all of these quirks that make me who I am, maybe even finds them inspiring.

The preference bit: Please be no younger than 28 - I don't particularly have an upper age limit. Liberal minded is important - not interested in conservative or apolitical philosophies in a partner while my bodily autonomy rights are being challenged. Please be single, unattached. I prefer someone childfree, as I am childfree as well (do not have, nor want, kids). While I do enjoy sex immensley and would like lots of it in a romantic relationship, I prefer being approached as a human with thoughts and feelings first. Not into long hair on guys with few exceptions, nor do I like unkempt beards or guys rocking alternative looks. I tend to prefer men who are clean cut and wear clothing that fits their bodies well. Being employed and financially comfortable is important to me; I am a white collar working professional. If you don’t live in So Cal and we click, both of us traveling to see each other regularly is important to me.

I'm open to friendship, I'm open to romance, I'm open to whatever. Connection is deeply important to me and I want to make a human connection. Are you in?