Your Dating Bill of Rights

You have the right to ask.
If you are interested in someone, you are free to ask them out. Pretty basic idea, but can be easily missed.

You have the right to the jitters.
They are most likely nervous too, and it is ok to admit that you do have the jitters about the date. They may say that they are in the same position!

You have the right to punctuality.
This is not a come-when-ever-you-feel-like-getting-around-to-it thing. Be on time. They made time for this in their schedule and you should be respectful of that.

You have the right to free speech.
Speak your true thoughts on things, don't hide who you are just to say what you think they want to hear. Be open and encourage the other person to speak too, ask questions and try to get them to speak up so its not just you talking.

You have the right to fun.
Don't come in ready for the spouse interview. Have dates that are activity-oriented. You will be able to actually do something fun, and will have the activity at hand to talk about if conversation stalls. Doing something with them lets you see how they react to different situations, see what kind of decisions they make, how they prefer to do things, and you can normally get a pretty good peek and their back side at some point. ;)

You have the right to undivided attention.
The two of you have set aside this time to be just with each other. If they are not giving you the attention that is to be expected, if they are busy talking with everyone else (on the phone or at the bar) but you, leave. The point of the date is to get to know one another.

You have the right to bare arms—or long sleeves.
Dress to fit the occasion, but dress comfortably for you also. You need to be comfortable in your own skin, and when you are it will help let things flow more naturally.

You have the right to kiss.
If things are working out well between the two of you, and the moment comes that you want to kiss, go for it. If it makes it more comfortable, you can always ask to kiss them first. "I've had a great evening, and right now, I'd really like to kiss you." would work. If they say no, take the no. Don't press someone into doing something they don't want.

You have the right to follow-up.
Don't worry about whatever the "appropriate waiting time" is before contacting them. If you had fun, tell them! Go ahead and ask them out again. Why go through the stress of wondering if they are going to call, if they had a good time, or if they ever want to see you again? Tell them.

You have the right to cancel.
If something major has come up, if you get a big project at work, get sick, its ok to call and ask to reschedule. If it is big enough, you may just need to cancel and try again in a month or so.

You have the right to bow out (and break up).
If the date is not going well, if you feel unsafe or uncomfortable, you can say thank you for tonight and leave. If the relationship is not going anywhere, you can end it.


Would like to thank MSN for this list and if you like more information, check out their link.

Been Getting Comments

.... I did not know what I was going to use this blog for. I posted some things about relationships, and then ended up learning a lot about them from experience. I still don't know what to put on this blog, and I'm not sure I should be doing anything with it.

I could post some of my writings on here, but this is much more public than I like most of them to be.

And if I knew who I was writing for, that would help a whole lot. :P

~J