 |
 |
| Photos by RACHEAL ALVSTAD AND JESSICA KOLDITZ |
|
|
|
Today is Valentine’s Day. How many of you reading this right now are moping about how you don’t have a date? Don’t you wish you could do something about it?
No guy wants to be the subject of a dating disaster story. You know the kind of story almost every girl has, the kind they share with all their roommates during those late night talks, giggling over the tragedy of it all.
No girl wants to be alone every Friday night, left to watch romances where the girl gets the guy and everything ends happily ever after.
Everybody knows someone who always has a date. You always wonder and want to ask them about how they do it. Don’t worry –– it’s been done. So straight from the “experts” here are some dating do’s for both men and women.
Guys
Do: Get to know the girl you’re interested in
“I get to know a girl pretty well, get to be their friend first and then ask them on a date as friends and if I see that something could be there I ask them on a second date,” said Albert Weeks, a junior from Walterboro, S.C.
Do: Keep it simple
“Just a simple, straight-forward question,” said Jim Greene, professor of Dating and Courtship in the Department of Home and Family. “If she says ‘no’ don’t take it personally, don’t think it’s something with you and don’t react to rejections in a negative way.”
Do: Be yourself
“Everything in today’s society encourages young men and young women to wear a mask,” Greene said. “The fear is, if they see me as I really am, then it lessens my chance of getting a date. Be yourself; fight the tendency to wear a mask.”
Do: Be friendly and social
“Just go out of your way to be friendly at different activities, whatever you can do that will help you to get to meet people. Once you’ve established an acquaintance, you can ask them out,” said Nate Mower, a junior from Stanley, N.M.
“I just talk to them like I already know who they are,” Weeks said.
Remember, when asking a girl out, you only get one first impression and you only get one first date. Your success lies in your ability to make a girl feel comfortable and special.
“The three main things [for a date] would be: comfort, getting to know each other better and having fun,” Mower said.
Dating is meant to be fun. The For the Strength of the Youth pamphlet by the First Presidency reads, “good friendships can and should be developed at every age.”
Girls
Do: Be a good girl
Christine Weiss, a senior from Vancouver, Wash., said good guys really are attracted to good girls. “They like girls who are at the top of their game,” Weiss said. She had some guesses as to why the guys always ask her out. “I like to laugh and have a good time,” Weiss said. “Boys see that and think I’ll be a fun date.”
“They see it all right,” said Weiss’ former roommate Ashley Anderson, a freshman from Pocatello, Idaho. She would estimate that Weiss went on at least 30 dates last semester. “They just kept calling,” Anderson said.
Do: Be your best self
The best advise Weiss had was to make sure to do everything you can to be at the top of your game, or in other words, be your best self. She said guys always like it when you make them feel good about themselves.
Do: Talk to the guys
T.J. Smith, a sophomore from Idaho Falls, said guys look for signs that the girl will say yes before they ask her out. One of those signs is that the girl talks to them from the very beginning.
If you sit by a guy in class one day and strike up a conversation, you should sit by him the next day and from then on. “It gives us a chance to get to know you,” Smith said.
Do: Take care of yourself
“Cute doesn’t necessarily mean natural-born beauty,” Smith said. A girl who takes care of herself and is presentable is a great catch. “Smelling good always helps,” Smith said. “And never, never have bad breath.”
Some guys commented they didn’t ask girls out if they thought the girl might be too clingy. Sometimes it’s OK to just be friends. Friends for now, friends forever is a good thought to keep in mind.
