“We met for a reason, either you’re a blessing or a lesson”
Everyone who walks into your life can teach you something new. Although dating takes time and effort, we can learn from each date we go on. We learn our preferences and what we can tolerate, and we discover things about ourselves that we wouldn’t have known if we didn’t go on that date with the guy in the band who wouldn’t stop talking in lyrics and brought a sandwich to the bar in his backpack…
This applies to bad dates and past relationships. When we meet someone we automatically try to figure them out. We make judgments based on first impressions but there is so much more to a person besides their clothes and hairstyle. Going on dates teaches you to be more open and willing to get to know people for who they actually are before writing them off. Also, going on dates opens you up to new restaurants, activities and cool bars that you would not have know about if you hadn’t gone on the date. And, if the date was bad, you now have a new spot to bring all of your friends next time you want to change it up.
We can also learn a lot from failed relationships, whether they ended on decent terms or it was the World War III of breakups, there is always a silver lining. And I know that sounds cheesy, but it’s true. When you go through a horrible breakup, you reflect on all the things that went wrong and the way things should have been handled. Regardless of whether it was your fault or your significant other’s, you now know how to handle those issues in the way you wish you had.
No matter how toxic or how simply uninterested you were, you learn what you like and what you don’t like, what you want and what you don’t want, and what’s important and what’s not important. You learn about yourself and there is nothing more valuable.
The phrase goes, you have to kiss a few frogs before you find the one. And that one may be right around the corner. So take the date! Unless there is a blaring reason not to, have an exciting night out with someone you just met. You just might actually find a keeper in the crowd.
By Alexia Chicles