Single Woman Wondered What It Would Be Like to Live the Plot of Sleepless in Seattle. Now She Is (Exclusive)

• USA Today reporter Erin Jensen is looking for a Valentine’s Day date Sleepless In Seattle-style
• Jensen, who’s getting some help through a special contest, tells PEOPLE she is grateful for the opportunity and eager to “meet some interesting people” through the experiment
• “The idea of wanting to spend a Valentine’s Day date in New York City, it all just feels so romantic,” she says

She’s single and ready to mingle Sleepless in Seattle-style this Valentine’s Day!

Erin Jensen, 37, is going on a virtual cross-country search for a special Valentine’s Day date in New York City thanks to some help from USA Today, where she works as a journalist.

Jensen, who describes herself as “a rom-com at heart,” tells PEOPLE she’s long wondered what it would be like to live the plot of the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan classic in real life.

In the film, Hanks plays Sam Baldwin, whose quest for love begins after his son Jonah calls into a radio station to try and find his widowed father a new wife. In response, Ryan’s character, Annie Reed, writes him a letter and suggests they meet at the Empire State Building on Feb. 14.

“Being able to scour the whole entire country because maybe your soulmate doesn’t live where you live, I’ve always just had that in the back of my mind,” says Jensen, who adds that “the idea of wanting to spend a Valentine’s Day date in New York City, it all just feels so romantic.”

However, without a Jonah of her own to set her quest for love into motion, she’s getting some help through the “USAtoDATE Contest”, which runs through Monday, Jan. 27.

Although Jensen has been in “a handful of relationships,” so far she just hasn’t met the one.

“I’ve asked friends, they say the best way to be set up is through friends. But all my friends would say, ‘No, I don’t know anyone good enough for you,’ or, ‘Every great guy I know is married.’ And it’s like, okay, well what else can I do with that?” she adds.

So Jensen recently approached USA Today with the idea for the contest, and they agreed to facilitate it. 

She tells PEOPLE she is grateful for the opportunity and eager to “meet some interesting people” through the experiment. “Who knows where your person is, and this is a fun way to perhaps meet them!” she adds.

And, even if her story doesn’t immediately find Mr. Right, maybe his mom might read it and make the connection. That way, “I’d be a good daughter-in-law,” she adds.

As Jensen noted in the article announcing the contest, “This is not an act of desperation.” In fact, she has become increasingly comfortable with living a single lifestyle over the years. 

“This search isn’t about feeling incomplete or insignificant without a significant other,” she wrote. “I can be my best without being someone’s better half.”

But that has not stopped her from wanting to find her soulmate. Now, she’s taking her search national, and there are specific qualities she is looking for in a man.

“So if you are an upstanding gentleman who opens doors for others; has a sense of adventure; is empathetic and kind; family-oriented; interested in going to church; active; goal-oriented; passionate, honest and wants children, or you know someone who is, please apply,” Jensen wrote. “I’m open to finding love across the United States.”

Less than 24 hours after the contest was announced, Jensen tells PEOPLE she received positive feedback from readers who resonated with her story. She hopes more will feel the same.

Even though it’s about me, I think it’s other people who can live through it too,” she says. “I would love them to feel brave enough to put themselves out there.”

People are already eager for updates on Jensen’s search for love, and she is eager to share more — when the time is right.

Anyone interested in nominating themselves or someone else can visit this form, and contest rules can be found here.