Never Say No to A First Date
Abigail Wissing
An ideology that I have brought myself to believe in my late teenage years is never saying no. Well, most of the time.
When it comes to going out with a new person, especially. Unless you know the vibes are completely off. Thus far, most of my experiences of never saying no have turned out. Except for the time some guy took me to a $12 all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet after our 2-hour walk in a botanical garden. My stomach was churning, and I got food poisoning.
Dating is dying out. So, in my runway of thinking, going out on a traditional, solid face-to-face first date is the biggest win I can take. I’ve also been really creative with some of the follow-up dates, with all except the Chinese buffet mofo.
That Chinese buffet didn’t make it much longer after that, and never did that young man. But you win some and lose some. In my case, so far, I’ve had mostly W’s.
As grand as this concept and belief can be, I have been faced with the moral dilemma of the point of never saying no. Is it because I, as a woman, in most circumstances, get a free meal out of it? Because that’s just bad manners, according to my father. However, I like to think of it as an opportunity.
My generation is so involved in the talking stage and situationships. The fact that I have gotten 5 of the 6 guys I’ve talked to in the past few years to actually take me out to do something outside a 6-inch piece of glass is incredible.
From long walks around Seneca Park to painting each other’s portraits on a summer day, hit me up if you need a second date rec because your girl will save you the hassle of a Pinterest search.
We as women must normalize those first dates, hangouts whatever they may be, because truly, no ones is who they seem online.
Another short story about a first date that lowkey was needed. I downloaded the dating app Tinder for less than 24 hours this summer. Why? It was four days into a very long family beach trip. I was bored and a little hungover and lowkey just craved male validation (as one does). I swipe right on this guy with an odd old man name, but he had a mustache and I am the biggest sucker for a cute stache.
That night, I met him on the south side of the island in the cold sand around 8:30 PM. Let me tell you. This man might have been the most awkward person I’ve ever met. Maybe he had never talked to a woman in person before, because when I say it was like pulling teeth on an extremely adolescent child who has nightmares about the dentist, that was what this experience was like.
But that’s the entire point. Experience.
Never saying no to a first date may be terrifying when you think about it for too long. However, if you plan for safety, pack some pepper spray, and tell a few loved ones, you could end up having aN honest to God tinteresting time! I can’t promise it will be a great one, but in the end you will experience a high you’ll never want to come down from.