1. The first date. Who on earth actually enjoys a first date? They are the worst. You have to make conversation with a person who you may have nothing in common with and if you realize that there is nothing to talk about within five minutes, you still have to stay for at least an hour to be polite. Not to mention, no one knows how to eat on a first date. Usually the girls order a salad. And I mean come on. Did we want the salad? No. We probably wanted the pesto chicken Panini, but knew damn well it would just mess up our makeup and probably ruin the chances of a second date we might not even want.

2. Speaking of food, food costs money. And let’s be honest, typically in the beginning of the dating period, it’s assumed that the guy will pay. But we are never 100% on that. And is it wrong to just assume? Probably. So because of this, we don’t want to get anything too expensive, but we don’t want to get the cheapest item on the menu either. So what’s a food item that I can look cute eating, that’s not too expensive or too cheap, and will also keep my makeup intact? I don’t know, I guess I’ll just order a chicken Caesar salad.

3. How do you even meet people nowadays? No one expects to find someone out and about anymore. Everyone relies on the Internet. Even if it’s your friend trying to introduce you to her boyfriend’s best friend; I guarantee before you even agree to going on a date with this guy, you will thoroughly stalk his Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. And with these social media pages, we nit pick at everything. “I think he takes too many selfies”, “Why is that his profile picture?”, “He tweets more than I do.” This makes us even pickier.

4. The problem with dating sites is simple. Not everyone in the world is on them! So, it makes me wonder. What types of people actually sign up for these sites? I’m sure a lot of them are girls just trying something new to meet people, which is great. Now let’s think about what types of guys on there. There are probably going to be a lot of creeps. What teeny tiny percentage of these guys are a decent, dark and handsome, over-six-feet, actually funny, kind-to-my-parents, loves-cats kind of guy? I’m not even sure if that kind of guy would sign up for this site. He’s probably out there, feeding some other Persian Blogger’s cat.

5. Also, because of all this technology, we forget how to even talk to people in person. Tell me this. If you’re in an awkward social situation with nobody you know, what are you most likely to do? A: Make conversation with a stranger, or B: Scroll through Instagram and pretend to be preoccupied. Most of the time, it’s B. We’re most comfortable behind a screen and that is not a healthy social life.

6. Is it even considered dating anymore? Okay. So here’s the one advantage you have when you’re online dating. You know for a fact that it’s a date. Everyone just hangs out nowadays. What do you mean by hang out? Are you expecting more, meanwhile I’m thinking it’s two friends getting coffee? Is this going to be an incredibly awkward situation? Do we both consider this a date? I’m a girl and I’ve most likely over thought every single possibility, several times.

7. Until you meet a decent person to be with, you have to go through a ton of jerks. There are so many of them. The ‘mean guy’, who makes you feel bad about yourself most of the time, yet you stay with him because on the rare occasion, he does make you feel sort of special; The ‘flake’, who always blows you off but keeps you dangling just close enough so you come back for more; The ‘player’ who flirts with absolutely everyone; and so many more. And it’s not like these guys are wearing signs that warn you ahead of time. You have to look for the red flags. And don’t settle. Find someone who treats you the way you deserve to be treated and makes you happy. Actually happy.

8. It’s easy to come off the wrong way when you’re dating, because you’re just getting to know the person and sometimes you say the wrong things. You may be nervous or just having a bad day, which may make you seem a little standoffish. And on an ordinary day with people who know you already, this is fine. But on a date, they will assume that’s just how you are. They don’t know your quirks and if you say one thing, they may take it different way. There’s a lot of stepping on eggshells.

9. Then there’s the games. You know, waiting a few days on purpose before texting to follow up, playing a little hard to get, if they wait an hour to respond to you, then you wait an hour to respond back to them, and of course the whole ‘trying not to look too eager if you actually like them’ thing. That whole sha-bang.

10. Lastly, if you went on a date or two and have decided that this person is just not for you, how do you handle it? Are you going to be honest with them? Just ignore every text and call? Do you keep taking rain checks that you have no intention following through with? Or are you so bad at this that you end up just seeing them over and over again just to be nice? I’m sure everyone has a different method. Basically what I am getting at, is dating is hard and until you meet Mr. or Mrs. Right, it’s going to suck.

If you have any dating dilemmas you’d like me to chat about, let me know! Either comment or message me.

Hope you’re all having a wonderful week!

Renee