It’s been almost 15 years since my first date and my (really sloppy and somewhat traumatizing) first kiss. In that span of time, I have discovered many dos and don’ts of dating, which hopefully I will no longer need to keep in mind of, now that I’ve taken the big leap and gotten hitched. But one thing I will definitely testify to is the fact that dating is a ruthless process, especially if you’re doing it in your early twenties.
But as you get older, dating gets a lot more fun and little less complicated, which I think is due to getting our sh*t together as we age. Here are some of the reasons why:
Being picky is totally okay
When it comes to dating, having standards is a good thing. You’ve got to choose the men that you want to date like you’re choosing your pizza crust. Tick what you like and don’t apologize for it. Your past taught you a couple of things and it’s completely okay to trust that.
You understand you don’t have to hook-up
The hook-up culture very much exists and because our generation seem to have standards that are sometimes questionable, it makes it really hard to date. But, as you get older you realise that it’s cool to hook-up but it’s definitely cooler to cuddle up with someone you care about.
You don’t care
I don’t mean this in a way where you totally just couldn’t care less about everything but what I mean is that, you’re okay with taking your time to find the right person to go on a date. After all, why should you sit through an hour of dinner with someone you have absolutely nothing in common with.
It’s okay to Tinder
As you get more mature, you get somewhat… less bothered. Meaning, the idea of staying in with a bowl of popcorn and watching The Breakfast Club sounds a lot more appealing than ‘hitting the clubs’. So, it’s okay to be using apps like Tinder while you’re snuggled in your pajamas. There are some really interesting and decent guys on Tinder too!
You understand things a lot better
When you’re younger, you over-analyse everything and that can become really stressful but as you get older, you’re okay with going with the flow. You understand things that really matter like, if someone really wanted to spend time with you, they would make the effort to.