School is out, summer is heating up, and the dating scene is getting hot, which means it’s time for a refresher course in everyone’s favorite class: College Dating.
Whether you just moved out for the first time, are fresh off a mission and reentering the dating scene, or you’re just looking to understand the world of college dating a little better, we’ve got your back! In this post, we’ll give you some tips and tricks to stay confident while navigating the dating world!
We even came up with a cutie little acronym to help you remember: KISS!
Keep It Simple
It can be easy to get in your head about every aspect of dating: how to craft the perfect “Will you go out with me?” text, asking yourself “Are they the one?” after a first date, and, unfortunately, a lot of “Why aren’t they interested in going out again?”. We totally get it and have ALL been there before!
When it comes down to it, you’re overthinking all of these things that don’t really matter. A good date boils down to one key thing, the people who go on the date and if they’re a good match or not. The rest is pretty much out of your hands.
Dating in college (and just in general) means you’ll probably meet a lot of the right people at the wrong time, the wrong people at the wrong time, and then one day the person who will be the right person at the right time! All of this is inevitable and honestly isn’t as personal as it might seem or feel.
If you can master the art of seeing dating more simplistically, you’ll be able to keep your heart and your mind safe from a lot of worrying.
Invest in Yourself
If you’re just starting your college career, you’ll realize pretty quickly that it can become a juggling act. Between living in a new place, trying to master a new job, taking challenging courses, and trying to build lifelong friendships, you can start to feel spread pretty thin. t can be hard to see how you can squeeze in a date night when you have limited time, a limited budget, and a limited social battery.
Here’s the thing, when you do dating the right way, it is an investment in yourself! While dating others, you get the unique opportunity to also date yourself. Look at it as an opportunity to figure out who you are, what you like to do, and what kind of person you mesh the best with! If you’re wanting to try a new dish, learn a new skill, or develop new habits, you can TOTALLY (and absolutely should) incorporate those things into your dating life.
If you find yourself eager to ask someone out but are worried that your schedule might be “too busy,” you can always invite someone to make dinner with you, study/do homework together, go to a workout class, or even run errands with you. If you’re on a date, but your mind is busy stressing about your never-ending to-do list, you probably aren’t being the most enjoyable date anyways.
Remember that making dating a priority doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t also prioritize yourself and your needs. Everyone understands that life gets busy, and the right people will respect you for taking time to care for yourself (and maybe even letting them join in on it!)
Step Outside of Your Social Scene
We’ve all heard or used the phrase “I need a change of scenery,” and dating is no exception to this phrase. Once you’ve gone out with a few people from your biology course, one or two people from your ward, and maybe even one of your siblings’ mission companions, you start to feel like the dating scene is a LOT smaller than you once imagined it to be.
While your feelings are totally valid, they really are just an indicator that you probably need to step out of your usual social scene and step into a new one. This might look like changing your location settings on your account, ward hopping with your roommates, or going to a church or school event you may have never thought of attending.
We can get so wrapped up in the idea of who and where we imagine our dream partner to be, but the truth is that your prince or princess charming isn’t always the frog in your pond, they might be a few ponds over!
You hear of a lot of people meeting their eternal companion or even their best friend at the right place at the right time, so don’t take yourself out of the running because you’re too afraid to venture out to the right place!
Safety First
We saved the best for last, a lesson we all learned at a pretty young age that is just as important now. Wear a helmet before you ride your bike, look both ways before crossing the street, or don’t dive in the shallow end of the pool; the point is you should take the time to keep yourself safe before jumping into something fun. There are many healthy habits that you can implement into your dating life in college, which will help keep you both emotionally and physically safe.
Whether you’re going out with someone you met on Mutual, Instagram, or at a social event, the same safety rules apply when heading out on a first date: Tell a friend or family member about the details and person beforehand (bonus points if you share a photo of them), choose somewhere public to meet up, avoid going to private places with a new person (their house, car, room, etc.), don’t share private information until you know them better, and trust your gut (if you feel like the vibes are off they probably are)!
Emotional safety is just as important as physical safety! A few ways you can keep yourself emotionally safe might include:
- staying true to your personal beliefs/values
- communicating openly about when you’re comfortable with taking physical steps
- setting boundaries when it comes to personal space and time.
These things can help you stay emotionally safe and keep you and the person you’re dating on the same page.
If you’re looking for some extra safety tips, our safety center is a great place to receive some insight.
With these tools in your college pencil pouch, we’re confident that you’ll be able to navigate the campus dating world. But, just to give you that extra vote of confidence, we’ve decided to offer a limited-time student discount to make the transition a little bit easier!
As always, we’re here to help you have the most successful dating life. Whether that’s in college or afterward, we want to be a resource you can come to for anything and everything dating-related! Remember who you are, have fun, and most importantly, KISS your little hearts out. 🫶
