Not Just a Number

There are as many ideas about dating as there are people, so I already know that not everybody who sees this blog or this post is going to be happy with the competition. However, I recognize that the way the competition is set up certainly makes it look like we're going on each date just to add another notch in our belts. Therefore, I feel like I need to explain my purposes for doing this competition and what I hope to get out of it.

The first reason is because I don't date often enough. My number one excuse for not dating is because I'm so busy throughout the week that I never think to ask anyone out for the weekend. I told Eric and Shayla that on a good month I go on 3-4 dates. On most normal months, however, I'm lucky to go on one. I hear talks like this one and know I should, but for some reason they don't motivate me as much as a little friendly competition does.

Next, there are countless times in my life when I haven't asked out a girl I was interested in. I don't know all the reasons why, but I know a few: I'm often either interested in 10 girls at once or none at all (thus I can't decide who to ask out first, or just don't care), sometimes I'm actually afraid to ask her out, and (believe it or not) sometimes I just don't have the self-confidence. I wrote down a list of girls I'd like to take out and realized that a majority of them are girls I've wanted to take out for a long time. I'm hoping the competition motivates me to ask them out and gives me enough experience that I can be comfortable doing so in the future as well.

Thirdly, I'm hoping to redefine dating (at least for myself if for no one else). I'll write more about this one later, as I have a lot to say on the topic.

Lastly, and probably the most obvious motive, I hope to get a girlfriend out of this. Okay, I know I won't get a girlfriend with just one date (I dare someone to prove me wrong). But you have to start somewhere. I can guarantee that this month I won't ask anyone out that I wouldn't normally take out (I'm pretty sure I've always been up for being set up on blind dates). I put a lot of careful consideration in who I ask out, and every girl I ask out is someone I admire. You could say I'm just hoping to rush the process by cramming a ton of dates into one month.

We could have made this competition private and not tell anyone about it. But there are a few reasons I personally prefer to include anyone reading this blog. It creates accountability--I'd only put in half the effort if not many people knew about it. I want to share what I learn with as many people as possible. Last but not least, it's fun (admit it, you like hearing about people's dating lives)!

Those are my motives. If I go out with someone who is uncomfortable about being posted on this blog (and they'll all hear about it), I won't count them toward the competition. I'm not limiting myself to only first dates this month, either. So I guess it would be easy for Eric and Shayla fans to sabotage me as a competitor. As long as I'm working toward the goals above, I don't care.

Wow, long post. If anyone is still reading this, I'd just like to say that I still want to win the competition, and will do everything I can to provide tough competition for Shayla and Eric!