Dating Darwinism

On Mondays and Fridays I have two classes; Ancient Political Theory and Senior Seminar. Neither are over the moon exciting, but they are the last hurdles before I graduate, so I continue to endure. 

This past Friday wasn't anything out of the ordinary, besides the fact that my Senior Seminar class was cancelled due to Brother L. being sick. In Ancient Political Theory the topic of the day was Aristotle Book 1 of Politics. If you haven't ever read a philosopher's work, I encourage you to try. This class has been a struggle for me and I have a fear of failing the class and being left here in this Rexburg hellhole (I add that for a dramatic effect). I have a test on Monday about Plato and The Republic, but I have barely studied. 

In class, Brother Hanson introduced the concept of "Social Darwinism"; a term coined by a bunch of rich men to justify exploiting their workers and how they have "rightfully earned their money". I am not going to expand more on this, I just hope you are fowllowing me. After class, I overhear the guy in front of me say to a girl, "We should have out sometime." GAG! Really? ASK THE GIRL OUT!!

Walking out of class I felt fed up with the dating scene here and I fear it will remain this pathetic as I leave school and venture out into the real grown up life. The dating scene here seems to never progress or give anything essential to me. I find it useless. 

As I begin walking to City Hall for my internship, I overhear another conversation. Yeah, I'm nosy, but so are you! Surprisingly, another pair of people from my class that sits up front. The girl is always dressed adorably and I love her hair styles. I think she speaks French because Brother Hansen is always asking her questions about French things. The guy sits next to her, he is average height, pretty cute. He resembles Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid. They were talking about Russian classes. However, that isn't what caught my ear. This is what caught my ear:

Prince Eric: What time do you want to go out tonight?

French Girl: Um, I don't know, what time works for you? 

Prince Eric: I was thinking..7:30?

French Girl: Yeah that will work!

They say their goodbyes. This conversation I find more pleasant. It was casual, but the purpose was established. 10 points to Gryffindor (or whatever house they are in). I hope they had a good time. 

That is when it hits me, I am living in the world of Dating Darwinism; survival of the fittest, date or not date. I don't know what people say about other school but when people (specifically Mormons) find out that you are going to BYU-Idaho, you hear about the "marriage scene", "BYU-I DO", "Ring by Spring", and any other marriage jokes you can come up with. 

I won't lie to you, I assumed it would happen for me. I thought when it came time to receive my diploma, I would be married. I never wanted to admit it out loud, but here I am five weeks before graduation and I am just as single as I was on the first day of college. But don't worry or try to lecture me because it doesn't upset me, I have done a lot of cool things while here; I have learned a lot about myself and I am really grateful for the experiences I have had while here. 

Let me tell you another secret, I have never had a serious boyfriend while being up here. You can ask me all the questions, did I talk to people, did I put myself out there, did I dress nicely? And I would answer all of these questions with a yes. I was involved with school activities, I met people, my roommates and I had great parties. My time up here has been a blast, I have made lifelong friends, However, I am burnt out of it all. 

Last semester I had a terrible dating experience and this semester has been no different. But there is a difference, this semester I have entered the world of online dating. It has been an interesting experience. You would think that people would be more brave because they are hiding behind their keyboards and computer screens. They aren't. "Profile views" and "flirts" aren't impressive. 

And the dates themselves have been interesting. I am the Queen of First Dates Only. The following is just an example of what kind of guys I have been on dates with: a guy who was texting another girl, a guy with dirty fingernails. a guy who straight up talked about his ex-girlfriends, and the list goes on. I also have not been on dates, but just chatting with guys. Hey guess what fellas, I suck at small talk and I don't want to small talk with you.

Here are a few more "Dating Darwinisms" that I have experienced:

1,) "So what do you want to do?"- Did I ask you out? If you ask me, or any other girl out on a date, please have a plan of what to do. I am fine with putting in input, but you are the one inviting me to do something. 

2,) "What do you like to do?" - I understand that when you go on a date you are getting to know someone, but I feel like this question is a double edge sword. I feel like I am being judged and you are only going to focus on the things you like and completely ignore anything else I am interested in. So I am going to be trapped listening to things only you like. Ask a more specific question, please!

3,) Being called pet names when I first meet you- Really? Do you even know how to spell my first name? I don't know you, don't call me pet names. Compliments are fine, but don't call me beautiful or gorgeous either, Its weird. 

4,) Touchy- Please remove your hands off of my hip, refer to the above concern. 

At this point, you may be asking yourself, "Why did I just read all of this?", Well its because you are curious about my dating life and there you have it; in a big fat nutshell. Dating is something I don't find joy in, at all. And I am not sure if I ever will. I probably need to change my attitude, but I just want to share with everyone the experiences I have had so I do not have to answer the same questions over and over again. 

Stay tuned for another blog post based on married people have said to me!