February is the month of love, and with everybody’s minds on Valentine’s Day, girls and guys everywhere are trying to think up the perfect date.
It could be a candlelit dinner at a fancy restaurant, or a surprise home-cooked meal.
“One time I had a picnic by candle light in a park and we ate food and listened to music, that was pretty cool. Another time my boyfriend cooked me dinner and surprised me with a beautiful table scape with rose petals, candles and champagne.”
Sydney Casey ‘17
“On my girlfriend and I’s one-year anniversary, I made her dinner, we cuddled and watched movies and exchanged gifts.”
Anthony Santaniello ‘16
Want to do something different than dinner, something a little more memorable? Sporting events are always a great ice breaker because it is a not-so-serious environment where both of you can have common ground.
“The best date I ever went on was an Islander game back in October of 2013. A guy I had been talking to for a while had season tickets and he asked me to go with him. I don’t know if we counted it as an official date, but I considered it one in my head. I was very excited because it was my first hockey game. We had terrific seats and we both just had a blast. It was fun and not too serious which is totally my kind of date. The Islanders lost unfortunately, but I still had the best time just talking with him and getting to know him even more throughout the game.”
Meghan Von Elm ‘15
“The best date I ever went on was with my last boyfriend in the fall of our first year together. It was the weekend before Halloween and I went to school right outside of Pittsburgh, so one of my favorites places to go was the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. Everything was so beautiful, it was amazing. The reason we wanted to go that particular weekend was because the zoo was having their annual “Zoo Boo” weekend. Zoo Boo is when all the kids dress up in their Halloween costumes and they have face-painting and scavenger hunts all throughout the zoo. I think I spent more time looking at the kids in their costumes than the actual animals. It was so cute to be surrounded by all these little humans running around in superhero capes and princess dresses. I’ve never seen anything like it. We probably spent about four hours at the zoo that day and just took it all in. All of my pictures from that day were pretty much all of the kids in their costumes and occasionally an animal or two in the background. It’s by far my favorite date ever”
Alex Alicea ‘16
It doesn’t always have to be elegant. Sometimes simple and genuine is the way to go. Less frills and more time to just enjoy one another.
“Getting fancy is nice, but not my ideal date sometimes, so this one is from high school. We went hiking in San Francisco on Lands End Trail, which has super pretty views of the Golden Gate Bridge and stuff, so towards the end of the trail we decided to rest and enjoy the view. He started taking stuff out of his backpack and it was a blanket and food and my favorite candies (hot tamales) so we had a picnic overlooking the bay and the bridge and we just talked. It was so nice.”
Andrea Neilsen ‘17
“I went on one good date. We walked to a Greek spot and just enjoyed each other’s company and walked back.”
Joe Marrone ‘17
But then again what girl doesn’t love a surprise?
“My favorite date was when my boyfriend decided he wanted to surprise me. He told me to dress nice and be ready at 5. It was a rule that we couldn’t see each other until we left. He got me and we went into the city. We went to Gotham bar and restaurant. After that he got an Uber car and blindfolded me. When we got out of the car he lead me inside a building and took the blindfold off. We were at the empire state building. I’ve never been there. We went to the top, did all the tourist stuff. Then we got another car and had gelato and walked around Central Park.”
Andrea Neilsen ‘17