The awkwardness of dating

When it comes to dating I am your typical British girl. The thought of going on a date grips me with an insurmountable fear. Thus I only went on my first ‘proper’ date aged 19, with a guy who I had been ‘seeing’ (but not ‘dating’) for a couple of weeks.

After revealing my dating virginity to said guy, he insisted that we go out for dinner. I immediately panicked about what we were going to talk about and how I was supposed to behave. How on earth was I going to manage to hide my insanity and control my unattractive habits of snorting and cackling?

The truth is though, that dating doesn’t have to be all that scary. Try to ignore the pressure of the ‘date’ label and concentrate on using it as an opportunity to really get to know the person. My first ‘date’ with a previous boyfriend was spent sitting outside on the grass, just talking for ages. There was none of the ‘who pays for what?’ palaver and there was no need to put on a front.

Contrary to the classic first date of dinner and a movie, I see nothing wrong with a casual cup of tea (not coffee, don’t risk the bad coffee breath). There is the opportunity for tea to turn into lunch and you can take things from there. Ultimately, the most important thing to keep in mind when dating is to be you. Yes – the real snorting, cackling you, with your own opinions and all of your insanity. If the date is subsequently a terrible train wreck, then not to worry; there are plenty more hotties (and potential ‘dates’) lurking around various corners of campus.