I watched a documentary with the other half last week (yes, there's an "other half" now - wonders never cease!) and it got me thinking about love and dating in your late twenties/early thirties. I reckon I'm pretty qualified to comment on this as I've spent a good long while as a "twenty something single."
The programme we watched was following one girl (lady? Woman? Never sure what the polite term is...) as she searched for love - online. We watched as she browsed dating websites, pointing out flaws and giggling at bad photos of potential dates, and it made me cringe.
"Oooh, he's less than six foot tall - No."
"Ah, he earns under £30k - not for me."
"Hmm, he's wearing a football shirt in this photo - it wouldn't work."
Now, I know that everyone has a list of what they'd like in a perfect partner. Personally, I'd love to end up with Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, or both of them, but that isn't gonig to happen and you've got to be realistic. Don't get me wrong here - I'm not saying AT ALL that people should be settling for someone who's not right for them, but what I do think is that people can be too picky when looking for love - online or otherwise.
Dismissing someone because they don't tick all of the boxes on your "perfect partner" list is potentially cutting yourself off from a really special person. Yes, looks are important - but if you like someone, they become more attractive to you. Of course it's nice to be with someone who earns their own money and can treat you occasionally - but money doesn't buy happiness. And it's always good to have interests in common - but difference makes the world go round, "same" is boring.
I guess my point is that people need to open themselves up to the possibility that the right person for them isn't necesarily the person they imagine in their head. When you moan to your friends, "why am I still single?" consider the idea that it could just be becasue you're putting yourself on a pedestal a little and waiting for the impossible. Everyone deserves the perfect partner, but some poeple might just need to broaden their horizons to find them.
PS: don't mean to be controversial. Sorry... :-P
