Rant on Dating Advice - Part 1

So - a lot of my friends come to me with different problems - but they all have to do with the same thing...DATING!

Now dating isn't a bad thing - but it can bring some interesting situations into your life and well since I have had a lot of text asking for advice - I have some pent up feelings about how people should go about dating and how they should be treated.
Ok, so girls now of days (and even guys - but I mainly deal with girls) who always seem to settle.

Settling is never a good thing because you end up regretting it in the long run and then later on down the road you start to wonder why in the world you let yourself get into a relationship in the first place.

So, for me - I take dating seriously. If I am going to put myself on the rollercoster that is called a relationship - I am going to make sure that the person I am considering dating is someone specially - and not just settling for a guy (or girl) who happens to want to be with me at the time.
Dating is so much more than having a boyfriend or girlfriend - right now I am 19 years old and well I am actually thinking about the rest of my life and as strange as this may be - at 18, I kind of already knew what I wanted from the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
I know that this may be subject to change as I mature - but for the last year - nothing has changed -I still want the same things out of my future partner.

To me - dating is no longer "omg I have a boyfriend and they care about me" and the heartbreaks - but now, dating is looking for that person I am going to have a future with.
So many people now of days don't get this. People take for granted relationships and then they end up getting their heart broken in the end.

So - before dating, ask yourself - how long can I see myself with this person? If you could only see a few months and no more - don't get into it - stay friends and save yourself the heartbreak. If you could see yourself with this person for a year or more - than well dating might be something to consider.

Another thing you may want to consider is do you like the person you are persuing for only their looks- or is there something deeper - do you like them for who they are, their personality.
If you only like them for their looks - STOP, turn around and do not get into a relationship. Your relationship will be based on lust and not love like it is suppose to. Now, do not get my wrong, you should have some physical attraction to the person you are pursueing, but you should love them for who they are and what they have to offer and see their looks as a bonus.

Now - getting off on a slight tangent. Relationships should be based on love. Being lustful towards your boyfriend/girlfriend takes away from the love and in a way taints it. If you truely care about a person you should be able to wait for them - do not rush into things. I mean if you think they might be a person you could spend the rest of your life with - then waiting shouldn't be that bad. Also, its a way to say to a person I love you so much that I can control my lust towards you. Lust is such a bad things and it ruins a lot of relationships because people let it get out of hand. No one said relationships were going to be easy - its hard work for both parties, but if you work together then everything can be accomplished.

Now, this is all I have time to write, plus my words of wisdom are running out. So, I leave you with one of my favorite quotes:
"God gave us two eyes to see, two ears to hear, and two hands to hold, but why only one heart? Because there is another heart out there searching to find yours"