 Originally Posted by sefalik
So I've been pretty content being single the last few years, especially now while I'm so busy at work and school. But I'll graduate soon, and I'd like to try dating again. Problem is, I don't even know how? I met my ex through a friend, but nowadays I don't even really have any friends outside of work or school, and those aren't close friends. And even there--how do you make just plain old friends? People I knew from high school have all went their separate ways, and out of the 6 people in my class at school, I don't see any of them remaining close friends after graduation. I'm always able to be friendly and whatnot to strangers, but how do you actually make new friends?
Then there's the whole phone thing. I have one, but it hasn't been turned on since September (that's when the charger broke). It's an extremely basic phone that I never use anyway, because I have a computer and landline. When I was buying weed, I at least used it then, but now I'll get maybe one text message every several months. But according to a google search, it seems the majority of women won't even consider dating a man today if he doesn't use a cellphone. And isn't that the first step anyway? I guess you don't ask a stranger to go out for breakfast of dinner, but you're expected to only ask their phone number. I just don't like the expectancy of constant communication that comes with carrying a cell phone. Sometimes I just want to be by myself?
Bah, the struggles of being an introvert. In reality, I really like who I am and my lifestyle, but how do I find people that understand and accept this for when I do feel like stepping out of my shell and actually socializing for a little bit?
This might just be random noise rather than me adding on to what you mentioned, but:
I’ve noticed a lot of people who are in relationships in college tend to want to get engaged soon after they graduate, or at least one person graduates, and the other is still on their path to achieving the same thing. It seems pragmatic at first to have the relationship hinged on people with similar end goals, but after all the sensational hype of showing those pictures on Facebook, and other social medias, the moment they’re absolved from that interaction, they’re forced to have to acknowledge how they can assess their lives together.
There seems to be this sense of apprehension they have, and to fill the gap, they continue structuring this persona online, and seeking validation once more while behind the mask, they’re trying to reconcile the infantile relationship. In other words, I guess compared to them, you had the mental fortitude to be close to graduation without relying on anyone other than yourself. And maybe, you recorded some dreams of yours every now and then, and maybe you would agree that our dreams are the perfect virtual, experiential reality to dive into our cognition, and figure ourselves out day-to-day.
And eventually, the more we know about ourselves in our dreams, and integrate those experiential fallbacks as to how we can apply ourselves in life, it’s probably just a matter of finding a person that wants to grow with you, and I’m just saying this because I asked a girl what her New Year’s resolution was.
She mentioned that she didn’t think about it as much, and instead of just immediately telling her what mine were, I just analyzed how she probably thinks her life is a blank canvas, and mentioned how interesting that was because she didn’t seem to be that type of person, which probably got her thinking. After I told her my ambitions for the future, and mentioned how because she’s the type of person to fight for a better future, which was the case, I gave the assurance that she can reach it as well when she made a bet that I can accomplish mine as well. But it wasn’t done in a friend-zone type of way, as there were romantic connotations during our experiences with each other.
I noticed a few hours after, I guess what I stated to her made her speculate things, and she found out the type of person she wanted to be with, which matched mine as well; she prefers someone she can grow with rather someone that has all the end goals accomplished that they went through trials and tribulations for, because there would obviously be no point in her milking any kind of learning experience with that person who already seems at ease with themselves, and probably wouldn’t be patient enough in her own progressive learning curve with life.
It made me realized that I was undermining myself all the time before with other women. I was afraid that opening myself up more than just that interview mode of questioning to know them better would lead to them just wanting to be friends. But, just knowing how to make them feel a certain way with certain contexts (e.g. childhood memories, likes, etc.) to solidify an emotional connection, and showing that you want to be self-sufficient with clear goals in mind that isn’t hinged on having to love someone deeply probably made me more attractive in their eyes. She’s been gawking at me any chance she gets, and I naturally reciprocate while remaining appropriate in the work environment we’re in, but like what you mentioned with the phone, I’ve been doing a little bit of that along with any face-to-face interaction I can have with her.
I noticed she’s being more assertive, and wanting to show the obvious signs, and I guess it’s just a matter of me just asking her to hang out sometime. I think for me, one of the environments where the perfect stranger can be someone more than that are probably entry-level jobs where women are on a path in life, but understand they need some kind of income to supplement that while trying to conquer the apprehension. Everyone seems to be on the same page when they’re in that environment, and those break room talks where people can get philosophical and deep with their future is a chance for something else to blossom.
I was glad that I laid off of college for a few years, and tried to understand myself day-to-day in this life and my dreaming experiences, because it became easier to tell any woman that I would be interested with of what I wanted to do, and show them that I can be a partner that they can grow with. And finding a woman that’s patient, and is realistic that there is apprehension and strife in life, but is willing to fight for a better future, and has some structure is the type of woman I want to be with.
I used to try to solve everything in their lives, but never exposed myself of my own problems to them, which is probably why I gave off a nice guy disposition, and that led to so many impasses. Now, that “bad guy” persona that seemed so convoluted to me before is simply someone that understands shit just happens, but they’re still trying, and when a woman sees that, and they acknowledge that, they would naturally want to help improve that person’s life. So for me, it was lack of communication on my end when it was me being one sided, and calculating all of a person’s psyche without opening myself up to them as well to where the feelings were mutual.
But that’s just me.
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