You've got it all wrong!

There seems to be a popular idea in our generation that when you like a person you either admire them from afar or enter into a hand-holding, walk me to class, presents on Valentines Day, boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. But what if you're not sure you want to be this person's girlfriend and just hanging out as friends doesn't really give you any idea about whether or not it would work? Never fear, fellow pubescent teenagers! I, as always, have an answer!

YOU'VE GOT IT ALL WRONG!!!

Have you ever heard of dating? Of course you have, but you use it in the wrong context. Dating is not the same thing as your serious boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. Dating is when two people go to dinner or a movie in order to see if there's any chemistry between them. Sure, it's possible to gauge some chemistry during day-to-day interactions, but there are so many "rules" about how to act around someone you like that it's so much easier to pull down those walls and to talk like you might if you were actually in a relationship.

Furthermore, jumping into the boyfriend-girlfriend stage without this middle step is why so many relationships go down the toilet (you like my creative expressions?) within two or three weeks. Within the first week or so (give or take a few days) it becomes apparent that the chemistry won't last, but instead of simply not going on another date, so-called couples face the dreaded Break Up.

So the solution is a simple one. Potential couples go on several dates in order to assess chemistry and to make sure it will last. If the dates grow less and less awkward and both parties are comfortable with the idea, it is plausible to procede into the RELATIONSHIP level. If dates become more awkward, one or both parties refuse to go on any more dates, and the end is simple and clean.

On top of all that, the heartbreak is half as painful. It's a lot easier to hear "I had a fun time, but I don't really want to go on another date right now." than "I don't like you anymore. I'm breaking up with you."

I myself have also been victim to this faulty reasoning of our generation until last year when I had this beautiful epiphany that has made my life so much easier. (Not that anyone has asked me out since then, but that's not my point!) Granted, there are always exceptions to the dating system, but, as a whole, I seriously think this is how it should work. See! Don't you feel so much lighter now? It's like I lifted a giant burden off your shoulders, and you're ready to take on all guys (or girls) who ask you to be with them! Instead of saying "ok" and watching the whole thing go up in flames, or saying "no" and always wondering what could have been, you can say "Let's go on a date!" and it all becomes so much easier.