Before You Cancel Your Date, Read This

I know you don’t like dating. There are people who like dating and people who don’t. You are a person who does not like dating.

I get it.

You’re a badass, kickass, independent, BUSY human being doing things with your life. You’re meeting deadlines, running marathons, reading books, making art, prepping meals, calling your mom, and hanging out with the best friends a girl could ask for—when you have the time and energy, that is.

Dating is just another cog in the wheel of your day, and it can feel like an obligation. Think networking event. Think mandatory bonding activity with a group of people you’re meh about.

Really, I get it.

And this whole love thing is hard enough as it is. You don’t fall for people easily. The last time you did, it was something big and fierce and actually changed the person that you are, the way that you love. When it ended, it left a couple scars, a few bruises, and more hangovers than you’d care to remember.

But the reality is, dating is part of this whole life thing. Dating is just an anxiety-inducing word for meeting people. And the more you meet people, the closer you’ll get to finding the next person with something big and fierce and person-changing to offer you.

Everyone you’ve ever liked or loved was once a stranger waiting to be met.

It’s never as bad as it seems pre-date. Well, almost never. You just have to rally, put that smile on and show up. And don’t forget why you’re showing up. Zoomed in, maybe this one date will feel like it’s not worth it. But zoomed out, this one date is part of a larger putting-yourself-out-there concept that’s important and worth investing in.

I hope you don’t cancel your date. I hope you go. I hope you really like this person and there are butterflies and good conversations and the beginning buds of inside jokes.

But if none of that happens, I hope you ate something good or drank something strong or at least felt like you tried for love today. Cheesy, maybe. But also pretty spectacular.