The good old days of crushes, dates, and respect are out the door. Say hello to our future: guilt, desperation, and hooking up.
Who remembers this feeling? It's your first middle school dance…and you're spending all of your time getting your hopes up for that one special person to ask you. It's an excruciatingly painful game of cat and mouse, but in the end you hope you'll win. You catch yourself staring at them in class, and trying to find any reason in the world to talk to them. But wait, what was that my older brother said? Oh, right, play hard to get. Crap. This is such a hard game, right? But in the end, when you get the date…it's worth it. Who remembers their first "real" girlfriend (or boyfriend)? Your parents dropping you off at the movies knowing you'll spend the first half of the movies not knowing that the hell you're doing. By the time you figure it out, the credits are coming on. Doesn't that just suck?
I fondly remember all of these things. Granted not all of them ended the way anyone would hope, but those things matter. Years later, I still remember the butterflies of my first kiss, the excitement of my first real relationship, the agony of my first heartbreak, the nervousness of my first time, my first love, and everything else my kids will one day ask about.
It's becoming more and more common now that no one is looking for love anymore and for us romantic souls this is a heartbreaking real-life apocalypse. What happened to the dates when you dated one person to find the one you would spend the rest of your life with? Now everyone's too "independent" for that shit. Independence doesn't end because you fall in love, if anyone even remembers what that is anymore.
Everyone is always talking about how lonely it must be for someone to go to bars, hook up, and go back to their solitary lives. Think about how lonely it is for the people who actually want the commitment who can't get it because there's always that one person who just wants sex. Sex with no commitment? Of course they're going to win that one.
Let's go over the most asinine bullshit answers to the question: "Why is no one dating anymore?"
I don't have time for a relationship. Oh, really? I wasn't aware it took less time to repeatedly go out on the weekends, get drunk, find someone who will be willing to come home with you, and then leave you in the mornings.
I've been hurt in the past. That one is my favorite, really. Did you stop riding your bike after the first time you fell off? Probably not. Grow up.
I just haven't found the right one. Well, that's probably because you're scraping your "potentials" out of the bottom of a Evan Williams or Bacardi bottle.
The list goes on and on and on. But here's the scenario that really blows. Being a romantic and falling for the untameable sex fiends. What do you even do? Here are your options.
- Leave that alone. (Easier said than done, right?) It should be pretty easy to steer clear of someone who isn't going to care about you, and try to find someone who will. You'll just have the be alone for a while until you find what you're looking for. Being a little lonely is better than being used, in the long run.
- Cautiously approach the subject in a less painful way. You don't get too invested in the thought of them, so if it doesn't work out the way you want…you're upset, but not completely broken. Or ...
- Dive in head first. Give it your all and hope to God they decide to change their ways. Who cares if you have to go home and cry yourself to sleep out of guilt afterwards..you're doing what it takes for love. And when that goes downhill, you're going to feel even worse in the end.
Regardless of this new fad of hooking up, I will stay true to my truly romantic mindset. Eventually, I want to have a committed future with someone who will love me until the very end. What will the others have? A bartender who knows them by name, drink, and pick up line. I guess that's love too,
kinda.
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