If you've read my previous posts, you know that recently I've delved into Online Dating. Mostly for practical purposes but also for curiosity's sake. I met this great guy. He had all of these fascinating qualities. He's creative, smart, funny, attractive, and we had just a ton of things in common... I thought.
Now, when I approach an online profile of someone on a dating site, there are specific things I look for. I look for age, education, profession, religious beliefs, and certain habits (drinking, drugs, smoking, etc.). Some of these things are deal-breakers for me. For example; I will not date someone who smokes. It's really bad for my allergies and I see it as a sign of low self-respect. I can't see myself dating someone without some sort of higher education. If he doesn't already have a degree, I hope he's pursuing one. And finally, I won't date someone who's not Christian. These are all really important things to me. That's what I look for first on someone's profile because if certain things don't line up right, I know right away that it's not going to work.
Well, just as it is on facebook, myspace, tumblr, twitter... It's easy to lie on a dating profile. I could put that I'm 5'8" with blonde hair and a PhD in biochemistry. No one would know until they meet me (assuming I didn't post any pictures...). But the fact of the matter is, there's no point to it. If you're falsely filling out your profile to attract a certain kind of person, they're not going to be attracted to you; they're going to be attracted to some modified version of you.
Did I like this guy? Yes. I did. But i read it once somewhere that if you're willing to change your values for convenience sake or to make someone happy, then they're not values; they're hobbies. Yes, I've been out of the dating scene for a bit and it may have clouded my judgement temporarily. But I know what I want. I'm fairly certain that I know what I deserve. This is just one more thing to call experience. One more experience to shape the brave.
Thanks for reading :)
Em.
PS. There will be another post coming up shortly. With the new layout and format, I'm trying to keep the posts topical. This means that if I have more than one thing to talk about, I may be posting more than once some days. But don't worry, I try to keep them around 500 words or so (this way, none of us get bored). :)