Take advantage of the meat market
I’ve been waiting for this day for almost 16 years. Today is my last first-day of school in my undergraduate career.
In my four years of college I have learned many things. I have learned that you will never need to know the square-root functions off the top of your head. I’ve learned more than I ever wanted to about the ocean floor and the digestive system.
I’ve learned there are some roommates who will never put dishes in the dishwasher, no matter how full a garbage can is, you can always squeeze one more thing in, and I have accepted the fact, that most likely, I am not ever going to get any taller.
I have also learned that there is no problem in dating for the purpose of having fun, meeting new people, and having a good time. The dating market while in college is the largest we will ever have access to and too many people aren’t taking advantage of it.
This is a problem.
Today, in honor of my last first day of school I urge all students to use this semester (especially if it’s your last) to take advantage of the dating market available. I’m not suggesting we all go out and find ourselves a spouse, but rather, the opposite.
Just date.
Date to have fun, date to meet new people, date to laugh.
There is no other situation where an individual is in an environment with roughly 18,000 other people, all within 5-7 years of their age, about half of which are of the opposite sex, and half of those, are single. That means there are roughly 4500 single individuals of the opposite sex available on campus and, despite what they tell you, they are all looking.
Dating allows you to try things you might not do on your own. This summer alone I had the opportunity to try roller skating, rock climbing, sushi, shooting, ice skating and I even got my shot at driving a motorcycle, none of which I would have done on my own.
Going on a date with one person will open multiple doors. I have multiple number of friends I have met through dating and how many friends I have who met their spouse through dating his or her roommates first.
Too many people are scared to date because it might not work out, someone might get hurt or you might end up breaking up in the end. They are absolutely correct. Theoretically only one relationship will end up happily ever after, but you might as well have fun getting there.
I admire those individuals who actively date. I had a group of friends who would invite a different apartment of girls over once a week for dinner. The boys would cook the meal, while the ladies mingled and helped out where they could and everyone got a full meal at the end of the night. This tradition continued all year and I always admired them for doing that.
Recently, I was with a group of females and listened to these women complain about men and how they, “never actually do anything,” “never ask us out” and most of all they, “are lazy.” A few weeks later I had a similar experience listening to a bunch of guys complain about how women are, “baby-hungry,” and “pressing for marriage,” or on the other end of the spectrum I heard complaints of women being, “too busy,” or “unresponsive and hard to read.”
I found it ironic the women were complaining because the men don’t ask them out and don’t do anything to make them swoon and the men complain that the women won’t let them because they’re too focused on marriage or on themselves.
These two groups were prime examples of individuals who are failing to take advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime dating pool available to them. Just because you date doesn’t mean you’re on the chopping block to get tied down in the next year, and just because a guy asks you out doesn’t mean he’s contemplating a proposal.
If you don’t date now, when will you? When you are working in a 9-5 job in an 8×8 cubicle where you see the same 15-20 people everyday? After you leave campus you’ll be entering the work force and your opportunities to date will be severely diminished.
Take advantage of the opportunities you have now, stop worrying, stop checking your biological clock and have fun. Ask out that cute girl sitting next to you. Let that guy know you are interested. If the first one doesn’t work out, you’ve still got 4,499 to go.
Take a chance. You’ll never know what might come out of it.
Pass it on.
Emma Tippetts is a senior majoring in law and
constitutional studies and print journalism