Celebrations and Other Opinions

On a celebratory note, I am pleased to announce that I have finally finished taking my courses for my Reading Endorsement!  I have been working on these classes for over 2 years, through summers, through school years.  It has been a long, long road.  I started these classes as a first year teacher, studying in the classes with teachers who have been teaching for 20+ years.  It was a challenge I took on, and I am proud of my hard work in finishing.  I have one last step...my PRAXIS test to complete the endorsement. I will be taking that on the 30th of this month and I am pretty excited to take it and REALLY complete this phase of my education.  Hopefully I pass....we'll see!

I have some thoughts mulling around in my head that need a place to rest.  I think this might just be it, however, I run the risk of offending some.  But, it's my blog.  I can write what I want, right?

I have recently had some conversations about a topic that is hitting home to many young single adults right now.  A topic I rarely discuss with anyone, let alone on a publicly accessible blog.

Dating. 

But not just dating. 

The stereotypes surrounding dating, personalities, and compatibility. 

All too often in my life, I have been on the indifferent side of the whole dating game.  I never really cared all that much if I were "date-able," or if I were dating.  I always felt that I was a worthy candidate, but never worried too much if anyone else thought so.  However, I always knew, deep down, that I really did want to find a person who liked me enough to end up with me forever. 

As my life has gone on, I have learned a lot of things about dating from the people I dated, and who  have tried to date me.  I was never one to refuse a date, pretty much ever, however I had some pretty rotten experiences with people who saw me as an easy target. (Hence the "tried"). Because I have always believed that a person's character is much more important than their looks (though I'd be lying if I said I didn't think physical attraction is important) I have always been one to give just about anyone a fair shot. Anyone who was not a creep sitting next to me on an airplane, being completely inappropriate and trying to hook up with me right then and there.  Anyone who was not a dirtbag who forced his way into my car and tried to get me to go into dark alleyways with him.  Anyone who was not masquerading as a nice, available priesthood holder but who was really sleeping with my roommate.
You think I'm kidding. 

I know there are girls out there who give the rest of us girls a terrible stereotpye.  There are girls who are really rude, really shallow, really manipulative.  There are girls out there who make guys feel like garbage, on purpose.  There are girls out there who are so unfair to the nice guys, that the nice guys lose all faith in any females. 

What the nice guys who have been stepped all over don't seem to know, is that the nice girls have also been prey to those types of girls.  Those are the "mean girls" in our lives; the ones who make us feel like garbage too. Those are the girls that make us feel inadequate and unimportant.  Those are the girls who give us nice girls the reason to feel like we will never have a chance with any guys.

What? Does that make sense?  Is that making your mind reel?

Yeah.  Those girls do that to us too.  How?  Because THEY are the ones who get all the attention.  THEY are the ones who the men notice, are attracted to, worry about, want, hate, and are so afraid of that they can't stop paying attention to them.  So us nice girls?  We don't get the time of day.  No attention, no appreciation, nothing.  Because all too often people want to dwell on the fact that others have hurt them.  Nice men want to dwell on the fact that those "mean girls" need justice served.  Meanwhile the girls who are trying to be good, trying to be nice, and trying to find good people to date, are being completely ignored and unacknowledged in the stereotypes of women. 

All I'm saying is that the nice girls deserve a shout-out too. 

The dating game stinks.  For everyone who has a conscience. So we all ought to be sure to give credit where credit is due, and maybe start focusing on the people who really want to be good, kind, and nice and spend less time focusing on the people who don't DESERVE our time.