Okay I'll admit. I have made mistakes.
Just ask the 3 roommates I lived with for about 2 years. Dustin, Nate, and TJ will all tell you the same thing when asked, "Did Ryan know how to date girls the majority of the time he lived with you?" Answer? "Not really." "Who, Ryguy? He dated?" and "He tried to figure it out." would be close to their answers respectively.
One weekend we (the roommates and I) decided we were going to take a weekend camp-out trip to Moab,Utah. TJ wanted to bring his girlfriend, Katie, Nate wanted to bring his girlfriend, and Dustin wanted to pretend he wasn't single even though he technically was (long story). Me? Well I just wanted a girl to pay attention to me. Rule number one when wanting to date: Don't feel desperate, it turns out badly.
So Katie invited her roommate along. I thought her roommate was nice so I thought it would be fun to have her come and I could see if I liked her. She paid attention to me, and at the time that's all I considered in my dating montage. Like I said, I didn't quite know the whole dating thing.
It started getting dark in Moab as we setup camp. Our group was hiking through a wooded area with ONE flashlight. The drive was long, and I had become pretty irritated with Katie's roommate by this point of the day. I was leading the pack with the flashlight, and Katie's roommate was walking extremely close behind me. She was occasionally bumping arms with me and me being me (refer back to top of the page) thought she was trying to flirt with me. No way was I having anything to do with that. I said something along the lines of "will you back off of me?" (I know, I know) and she scoffed at me and said, "well you're the only one with the flashlight!"
Oops. My bad.
You're going to get annoyed sometimes in dating. Sometimes it may feel awkward, but the learning how to handle these situations can help you create better relationships in the future. Being perceptive, patient, and understanding with your date can help you better understand them....and yourself.
And sometimes....It's better not to assume you know why someone is doing what they are doing, or saying what they are saying....
And just give 'em the flashlight.
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