I am writing this from personal experience. I was married for 12 years. I worked hard to keep my marriage, but after a long battle it ended. My divorce left me very sad and unsure of myself. After being alone for 2 years, I was ready to start dating. I went out with my friends to clubs. It felt good to get out, but a bar is no place to find the right kind of man.

My friend had been dating a guy for a few months and told me she met him thru match.com. I figured I would give it a try. I got on the site, checked things out, and decided to give it a try.

At match.com you may become a member of the service at no cost. As a member, you will have the ability to participate in some, but not all, of the features and services available within the service. To interact with other members, you need to subscribe. Subscribing is your all access pass to millions of members, and is the most successful way to meet people. While members can send Winks and search for people, subscribers actually get to email and connect with their matches. In fact, hundreds of thousands of members who found their match last year were subscribers. You can choose the plan that's right for you. They have a 1-month plan, 3-month plan, and a 6-month plan. I took the 1-month plan because I wanted to get my feet wet first. Of course the shorter the plan the more you pay.

The next step is to set up a profile. Match.com matches your profile with other profiles they consider compatible. They email you profiles they match with yours. You can also search by age or set a mile radius. Match.com does have same-sex matches. Now the fun begins. When you find a profile you like, you can send what they call a wink. This lets the other person know you are interested in their profile. After that, email contact is usually made.

All I can say after that is take your time. Always meet in a public place for your first date. Even if you talk with someone for awhile before you meet, it's always better to be safe. I received a lot of emails from men. You move at your own pace. If you are comfortable enough, you can talk on the phone. It's all up to you.

I met a guy who lived 10 minutes from me. We decided to meet for a date. We picked a restaurant we both liked and met there. We dated for about a month. My insecurity with myself started to surface after we stopped seeing each other. I was ready to crawl back into my shell again. Before my monthly renewal was up, which I planned to cancel, I met another guy who lived within 15 minutes of me.

Match.com worked for me. After a year and a half, we are still together. I am happy and have my life back. I am thankful for a second chance at love.

There are a lot of dating services out there. Here are a few other popular dating services: eHarmony.com, chemistry.com, loveaccess.com, and americansingles.com. The list is endless but I don't know how well their services work. If you are tired of being alone and ready to get out there and date again, now is your chance. Try match.com and let it work for you too!!