Every woman who is single and dating right now deserves a medal — or several medals. Between online dating and deciding you should try meeting guys the old-fashioned way, you’re probably confused at least 90 percent of the time. It’s all just a big mess, but even when you’re in the depths of despair, wondering if you should get used to being solo forever, here are 9 truths to remember about dating:
- No one knows what they’re doing. There are so many so-called rules and pieces of advice out there, it’s impossible to know what to do. If someone asks you out in a super awkward way, show them some compassion instead of wishing they had asked in a more elegant way. No one knows anything about dating. It’s all a massive mystery.
- Relationship People have no idea. You know the types: they have never had to enter the magical (and by magical I mean horrifying) world of dating because they’ve had a boyfriend since before the beginning of time. Or at least before Netflix which is basically the same thing. You should be proud that you’re braving the storm when so many people you know have never done that.
- First dates will always be weird. There are just different levels of weird on a first date. There’s the creepy kind of weird that you know all too well, and then there’s the rare date that is so good it becomes weird. Embrace the strange and go with it.
- If you have a story, you’re doing it right. Wear your bad date stories like a badge of honour. You worked hard to get them. The same goes for your good date stories. Your dates are more than just more material for a girls’ night. They’re your own version of a love story. You can’t change the past so you should know that you’re trying your best.
- People get together in different ways. Sure, sometimes you go on a first date that is so good you go on a second and then an insta-relationship forms. But the happy couples you know might have gotten there in a different way. Maybe they were friends for years or cancelled a bunch of dates before finally going out. You just never know.
- Being one-half of an unhappy couple is the worst. It’s easy to forget this when you’re spending your fifth night in a row sitting at home and wishing you had a boyfriend sitting beside you. Repeat after me: be glad you’re happily single and not fighting with your bad boyfriend or wondering why your supposedly amazing guy is now ignoring you.
- Common interests aren’t everything. In a perfect universe you would have things in common with guys you date. It’s not anything close to a perfect universe and so that won’t necessarily happen. Opposites really do attract sometimes, so don’t sweat it. It’s better to learn something from someone, right?
- You work with the info you have. This was my grandpa’s life motto, passed down from my mom to me, and I absolutely love it. If you’re kicking yourself for dating a loser, just remember that at first he seemed cool. That’s not your fault.
- You don’t have to marry him. If you like someone but aren’t sure they would make a good husband, then take a step back and remember that you’re not walking down the aisle right now. You can date someone and not think about the future.
