dating

Whether you like it or not, there is proper texting etiquette. You don't need to use periods or capital letters, nothing fancy like that. But you shouldn't send 8 messages in a row, especially unsolicited. No need for incessant amounts of emojis or lol's. The more succinct the better. It might seem complicated, but to every art, there is a technique. Lol. But seriously, not everyone understands how to text like a regular person and it really shows.

Dating is really fun, most of the time. Okay, maybe only half of the time. Regardless, every successful relationship started with cringy dates, so they must work sometimes. However, for a lot of us, the never-ending small talk, combined with the weird mix of emotions, as well as the fact that neither of us knows each other well enough to fully make fun of the situation, can lead to some painful awkwardness. But the plus side is that they are almost always hilarious in retrospect... Just give it time!

Love altogether in general inexplicable. Attraction falls right under the same rules. You can try to tell yourself what your 'type' is and what your 'icks' are, but really most of the time the reason we fall for someone is beyond us. Perhaps it's simply not that deep. Maybe it's not his sense of humor or his caring gestures, rather it's his jean length and the way he scratches his head.

Crushes are harmless, right? I mean, if someone is genuinely interested in pursuing things with someone would they still refer to them as their 'crush'? It was definitely a phrase that was passed around much more often in grade school. But I suppose adults still get crushes, and then the only difference is they can actually marry their crush, like even that day if they were feeling it.

We all know the ick. It's an uncontrollable feeling that immediately, well, drys everything up. It's different for each person, and I'm sorry to say that the consequences are sometimes irreversible. Are we really surprised though, there are about a million unexplainable things that humans experience every day, the ick is just one more. My advice? Don't worry about what you do and whether it gives people the ick, because when its the right person they will look at you and think, "Yum!"

It takes some serious guts to go up and approach a woman in public, but unfortunately, it doesn't always pan out. It may be that the club is too loud, she's might be hard of hearing, or maybe... you were just too dang awkward — which we are all guilty of being from time to time. It's natural, she's beautiful, you're nervous, you think you planned everything out, but y'all make eye contact, and BOOM! Nothing but nonsense begins to spew out your mouth. Sound a little too familiar? Well, if you made it in this list that means you definitely made an impression.

Okay, this is definitely a thing. As girls, we usually all learn about what being pregnant is before we fully understand what sex is. This results in a delay of information, a disconnect you might say. We know that we are the gender that has babies, but what leads up to that? Some parents will try to scare their kids by saying that they can get pregnant in all kinds of ways. Thank god we have the internet these days. Just try not to get sucked into the "I didn't know I was pregnant" stories.

I seriously wonder what goes through peoples' minds sometimes. In what world should women be 'flattered' for them requesting nude photos? It can really put women in an awkward position. Do I trust him? Does he really like me? Why doesn't he just ask me to hang out so he can see it all in person? I've heard that our parents generation  used to meet at a hidden spot in their neighborhood, count down from three, flash each other, and then run away. No cameras, no screenshots, no evidence! Though, still wouldn't fully recommend that since public nudity is illegal in many places. Can't have it all I guess.

Ah, pickup lines. Some people swear by them, others can't even pretend to entertain the people using them. Personally, they used to annoy me, but I think we can all agree that a little part of us misses the days when random strangers would come up to us in the bar and we could roll our eyes at the sound of, "Are you from Tennessee.... Because you're the only ten-I-see" or "Did it hurt... When you fell from Heaven?" E-pickup lines sent over dating apps just don't hit the same.

Almost every person has been on or will go on a bad date at some point in their life. I believe that awkward dates are a natural part of life, much like gravity and sunset. If you've done well enough to avoid one until now, I commend you. Honestly, you have dodged one of life's greatest bullets. But if you have a plethora of lousy date tales to tell, then welcome to the club. It's a magical place. Another Valentines Day has just come and gone, and if, like me, you were sat at home without a valentine, then these tweets about people's 'Weird, uncomfortable, funny, awkward, and ultimately entertaining' bad dates, will make you feel better about being single.

Breaking up can be hard. There are a lot of emotions flowing, uncomfortable conversations, and of course the inevitable decision of whether to keep in contact or say, "Have a good life buddy." Whatever the situation may be, a lot of good can often come out of break ups. The more ridiculous they are, the better the stories someone has to share with their friends OR perhaps with Twitter.

The choice to begin a relationship is a biggie. So often we tell ourselves to not over-think that decision, to ~follow our hearts~, but sometimes our heart is just confused AF and then we have to effectively undo our spontaneous decisions. Seems harsh, but maybe it's still better than knowing you're not into it and stringing the other person along for months, maybe years? Decide for yourself.

So, it's Valentine's Day. Today a lot of people are thinking about their relationship status and reminiscing over past dates that either make them smile or crawl in a little hole. On a first date, people want to feel calm, cool and collected. But it's just not always possible. An awkward first date doesn't cancel out the possibility of a second date, but it sure does not feel good in the moment.

Okay, it's incredibly easy to make fun of Valentine's day. The holiday has no real historic purpose, and really only benefits consumerism. If you're in a committed relationship there is an immense amount of pressure to behave a certain way on this random day to 'prove your love' or whatever. If you're not really dating, but seeing someone,  it's just kind of awkward because you might not want to go so full-out so early on. If you're single, well, you get a whole day to really (over)think about that. 

One night stands are nothing to be ashamed of. It's a totally natural part of life, and as long as we're all being safe and honest, there's no reason to give a sh** what anyone else thinks. That being said, they can really be cringy sometimes. That awkwardness usually begins the moment you finish, and then it's just like... What now? Well, if any of this seems relatable, or at least entertaining, maybe you will enjoy these thirteen bizarre one-night stand stories that some brave people shared on Reddit.

The art of attracting a woman can be a very precarious feet. Women don't often give a lot away. However, there are no 'A for effort' trophies in the dating world. Just because a guy thinks that every girl wants his unsolicited d* pics, and he feels very proud after taking a full on photo-shoot and sending them to 10+ women, it doesn't mean that the girls will actually appreciate it. Spoiler alert: They never really will.

Reddit user u/baldskiisjesus asked the girls of Reddit to share things that guys do that they think is cool but is actually the opposite, and, as always, the ladies did NOT hold back.