A woman is taking 52 strangers to dinner this year to "make new friends" – after realising how “isolated” she was following her break up.<br /><br />Jessie Wright, 31, has decided to go to dinner every Thursday with a complete stranger - with the aim of making new female friendships.<br /><br />The social media guru set herself the goal as a New Year’s resolution after realising how “alone” she felt after the break down of her five-year relationship in December 2020.<br /><br />Jessie moved to Melbourne, Australia, in 2019, from Adelaide, and struggled to make close friendships due to coronavirus lockdown.<br /><br />She decided to put a call out on her Instagram in January this year to see who might be interested in going to dinner with her and was flooded with responses.<br /><br />Jessie met her first stranger on February 9, 2023, and has been on five dinners since – journaling each one to keep track.<br /><br />Now she says the dinners are her “highlight of the week” and has realised how important friendship is to her.<br /><br />So far, she’s kept in touch with all the women she has met and hopes to hold a big dinner or party for all 52 of her new friends at the end of the year.<br /><br />Jessie, a head of social media, from Melbourne, Australia, said: “My New Year’s resolution was to make new friends.<br /><br />“I had felt so isolated in Melbourne as I didn’t really know anyone.<br /><br />“I thought - 'why don’t I try going to dinner with someone?'.<br /><br />“I put a post on my Instagram story kind of as a joke, but the response was crazy.<br /><br />“It was more nerve-wracking than a date with a male.<br /><br />“There’s something different when it is women you admire.<br /><br />“But it was really fun.<br /><br />“There is something nice in meeting a stranger.<br /><br />“There are so many incredible women out there feeling the same way.<br /><br />“I’ve learnt how important friendship is to me.<br /><br />“I think we should put the same energy into making friends as you do dating.”<br /><br />Jessie decided to do something about her loneliness in January 2023 and put an action plan together to meet a new stranger for each week of the year.<br /><br />She was “flattered” at the hundred responses she received after announcing her idea on Instagram.<br /><br />Jessie said: “I had this girl reach out to say, ‘I live in Sydney but I’m in Melbourne next Thursday if you want to go for dinner.’<br /><br />“I felt grateful that someone wanted to do this with me.<br /><br />“It’s a cliché but we had an instant connection.<br /><br />“The awkwardness went.<br /><br />“I called my mum, Kirsty, 62, straight after.<br /><br />“I couldn’t believe I had done it. I was really proud.”<br /><br />Jessie has now been on five dinners and books them up a month in advance.<br /><br />Since first posting about her resolution, she’s been inundated with 700 responses.<br /><br />Jessie hopes to travel abroad this year and wants to continue her Thursday dinners when she does.<br /><br />Jessie is not yet back on the dating scene and is loving the time and effort she is putting into finding new and meaningful friendships.
