50 first dates with 50 strangers? This TikToker is on a mission to make it happen

For many people, 50 first dates evokes scenes from the early aughts rom-com. For Liberty Schultz, it's real life.

Last fall, Schultz, 24, set herself an ambitious goal: to go on 50 first dates with 50 total strangers.

So far, she’s completed 23 first dates — and a few second ones.

Schultz, a nurse living in Atlanta, GA, began her experiment because she felt bored by the traditional dating scene.

"I was tired of going to get drinks with people, going to get coffee, maybe going to a movie. I was really bored and felt a little stuck," she says.

With the help of a couples' activities guidebook, Schultz has gone on a series of unique dates, including water balloon fights, blindfolded baking, and a poetry writing session, to name a few.

As she continues 50 first dates journey (no relation to the movie, she says), TODAY.com spoke to Schultz about her experiences so far and what she's learned from her unconventional dating strategy.

Schultz began the series in September

Amid frequent ghosting and situationships, Schultz grew tired of the dating scene.

"I had kind of like, lost hope in dating, honestly," she says. "I started the endeavor just to actually go on dates, see if guys actually wanted to go out, because I was stuck in this world of not really going out on fun dates, or just kind of getting strung along."

Looking to spice up her dating life, Schultz purchased "The Adventure Challenge" couple's activity book after seeing an ad on Instagram.

"I was like, this is so cool, I really want to do this. But I don't have a boyfriend to do it with, so it would be hilarious if I did this with strangers," she says.

The book contains 50 scratch-off date ideas, and Schultz plans to try each one. However, she waits until the beginning of each get-together to find out the mystery activity alongside her date.

Schultz went on her first date in the series with a man named Matthew, who she met through mutual friends, on September 18.

Using the activity book, the pair ended up having a water balloon fight in a local park.

"It was just like the best icebreaker because you got to see someone's personality so much," Schultz says of the activity, which she describes as her favorite so far. "You wouldn't think of ever doing that on a first date."

How she finds her perfect strangers

While many people find the idea of spending time with strangers intimidating, Schultz relishes the opportunity to meet new people.

"The original root of it was making real connections with people," she says.

To start off the project, Schultz created a Google form and posted it on her Instagram for people to submit themselves or their friends as prospective date partners.

"There wasn’t a whole lot of requirements," she says. "It was more like, describe the guy, maybe put a picture. What are their interests? What city are they in? That kind of stuff. If I knew my friend that was recommending them, I knew they would probably be a great guy, which they all have been."

Many of her first dates were with mutual friends or acquaintances through the Google form, but as the process lengthened, Schultz has started to source her dates from Hinge.

Schultz has also gone on a few unofficial second dates to get to know potential partners better.

"I’ve gone out multiple times off camera, because like I said, it's about connection," she says.

She's also in no rush to complete the series.

"If I wanted to, I could probably rifle through them," she says. "But that’s not not the intent. There's no timeline."

Based off of her TikTok engagement, it's clear that Schultz's 60,000 followers can't get enough of the series.

A video of her first date with Matthew garnered over 135,000 views, and eager followers have remained invested in Schultz's dating life.

In her posts, Schultz frequently chronicles her getting ready process, introduces her new date partners, films the reveal of each date activity, and shares clips from the date itself.

Her online audience seems nearly as invested in the process as Schultz is herself: much like reality show fans, her followers discuss their favorite dates, weigh in on outfit choices, and share their opinions on each potential partner.

Schultz says that the online feedback on her series has been "primarily positive," aside from a few less-than-kind comments.

"The negative is just silly stuff that just rolls off your back," she says.

She's still looking for her "endgame"

One question has continuously come up for Schultz: will she stop the series if she finds a special connection with a particular person, or will she keep going on first dates?

According to Schultz, she plans to finish all 50 dates no matter what, but they don’t all have to be first dates.

“If I find someone that I have a deep connection with — like this is endgame, this is it — then I’ll definitely continue the rest of the dates with them,” she tells TODAY.com.

Though she hasn't found that person yet, Schultz says that the experience has already changed her stance on dating.

"Dating isn't boring — it's super exciting," she says. "I’ve learned that there are just truly incredible guys out there," she says.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com