Dating

For as long as I can remember, the church has set clearly defined standards for dating.  Stake and school dances were for those 14 and older, and dating shouldn't begin until at least the age of 16.  Even then, it should be groups, not couples.  I was always kind of amused.  I was never going to get into trouble with a girl.  When I was 14, I had friends who encouraged me to come with them to the stake dances.  They were a lot of fun.  I've always been very social, and I enjoyed being with friends.  The dances were a great place to hang out with my friends.

Then when I turned 16, I asked girls out to school dances with a preceding dinner-date.  They were all double dates or larger, and I didn't exclusively date one person.  I was the model of an LDS youth in the dating scene.  But my secret was that I found it easy.  I wasn't attracted to girls, so I never had the desire to have a steady girlfriend.  For me, dating was just hanging out with friends.  There was no hormonal awkwardness in the dating scene for me.

By the time I was a freshman in college, I was getting very good at dating.  I loved watching movies, and having a friend with me was easy.  I just asked a girl out.  It was easy, and it was fun.  I remember one week where I had 8 dates in a week with 8 different girls.  (I counted homework dates where we got a bite to eat, so some people might not have counted them all as dates.)

The church sees dating as a way to develop the social skills to begin courting when the time is right.  Unfortunately, that's not what happened for me.  Despite all my experience dating, I don't think I was ever ready to begin courting a girl.  However, I did find dating members of the opposite sex to be a fun, enjoyable experience, and I highly recommend it.