Ever since we can remember, we have given into overthinking when it comes to crushes. Once we formulate this interest in someone, it’s as though the teeniest of gestures mean something. While that could be the case, there’s complexity around dating and it just isn’t simple. I decided to reach out to some guys and ask them their thoughts on dating and how they go about it!
1. Nathan Tidwell
“I like spending time together, getting past the first awkward phase, being friends, getting coffee,” said Nathan Tidwell, 20, a business major. “That coffee date, or somewhere like Disney Springs, for example, would be a place where I could bring up more topics and keep the conversation going then lead up to something more serious and ask her out on a date. If I’m thinking I really want to hang with someone more or I want to see them again, that gives me a sense of what I’m feeling toward them.”
Tidwell also expressed how he feels dates can “seem intimidating.”
“It feels like this serious thing but it’s not, it’s about hanging out and for me specifically, the thought process is that it’s either going to be too intimate or romantic; having that initial first date is getting past that overwhelming emotion and understanding it’s just hanging out and getting to know that person.”
2. Timothy Kok
“It differs from guy to guy. I usually start to want to hang out more, like grab meals or do something fun,” said Timothy Kok, 25, a recording arts major. “I wouldn’t start texting every day, but probably more frequently and eventually transition to every day if it turns out well. I try to keep the conversation going by asking questions at the end of every text.”
“The most common technique will be to not send a goodnight text and just reply the next morning so you can keep the conversation going.”
“You really have to see how the other person reacts and just go from there,” Kok said. “It makes me motivated to try new things and spend time researching on stuff to do or places to go.”
3. Ricky Ramirez
“Usually, I’m a really social person and when I meet someone I like I become a little more serious. It’s the opposite of what I should be doing, I should act normal and be myself. I tend to overthink around them,” said 22-year-old nursing major Ricky Ramirez.
“Honestly, the way I feel about pursuing someone is… it’s really hard. If I like you and you like me, why do I have to send cryptic messages and mess with you mentally, you know what I mean?”
4. Richard Colon
“My perspective on dating is that it’s necessary but pretty wack today, but as society’s dynamic evolves it too evolves,” said Richard Colon, 19, a sociology major.
“I do like spontaneity because that’s something I always like to do when hanging out with people, it also helps me get to know if the girl I am interested in is very sociable. I love to talk to people so that’s important to me.”
5. Isaac Chung
“Liking a girl and dating a girl are drastically different,” said 20-year-old biomedical sciences major Isaac Chung.
“Liking a girl is like watching a trailer for a movie you really want to see. Dating one is actually seeing the movie and getting to know the level of depth it has.”
So… what do we take from the perspectives on dating from these five guys? That it varies from person to person—there’s no clear-cut way we view dating. We’re all searching for different aspects in a relationship or a significant other. The one main commonality we can take away from this is that we’re all just searching for someone to share life with and being ourselves is the best way to go about it.