You should be dating someone who respects you. If he doesn’t want to put away his phone during dates, and keeps on replying others’ messages, checking for emails (or worse, Facebook notifications), or getting distracted by his Blackberry’s flashing red light, he isn’t worth your time. In fact, date someone who sets his phone on silent, who puts his mobile face down on the table or keeps it where it belongs – in his pocket.
Date someone who will fight for you. Who gets rejected but still keeps on trying, for he knows you’re worth the risk and you’re worth the pain. Date someone who wants to wait for your parents’ permission, who opens the car, apartment, and shopping mall doors, and offers to carry your very heavy-looking shopping bags, just because he wants to.
Date someone who cares about you. Someone who drives all the way to wherever you are at the moment because it’s late and somehow, your feet are swollen. Someone who really thinks of your opinions and puts them in consideration. Date someone who still walks you home even though it will cost him more time, just because it’s the nice thing to do. Date someone who stays up late till two or three am in the morning just to call you to say goodnight, because you are on the other side of the world and time difference beats you but never kills you.
Date someone who really, really loves you. Someone who tries his best to make you happy. Someone who hugs you when you are having a bad day and cooks for you when he knows you’re tired. Someone who loves KFC night on the sofa with a good movie. Someone who buys you flowers at random occasions just to put a smile on your face. Someone who asks you to go to museums, zoos, theme parks, and exhibitions instead of going for movies or shopping for the nth time. Someone who is spontaneous and surprises you with road trips. Someone who is adventurous.
Spend time with someone who respects themselves. Someone who has a great deal of self-esteem and is mature enough to handle things that are thrown his way. Someone who is willing to lay down his pride for you, instead of defending it. Someone who is not scared of Public Display of Attention because life’s too short to care about what others think. Someone who is sincere, kind, and gentle. Someone who knows how to treat you well. Someone who sees how beautiful you are, even when you believe otherwise. Someone who doesn’t compare you to other girls.
Date someone who has the right values – who will make you a better person. Find someone who believes in you, who will support you to reaching your dreams despite things looking bleak at the moment. Someone who doesn’t believe in no-win scenarios, and someone who listens. Someone who can criticise you and praise you at the same time.
Find someone who wants to get to know your friends and who invites you to go out with his. Someone who has a good support system and great friends to fall back when all else fails. Someone who can make you laugh when you cry. Someone who understands. Someone who takes time to learn your interests and be cooperative even if he doesn’t share them. Someone who puts effort to know your family and introduces you to his.
Seek out someone who protects you, who will take care of you, and who will never leave you. Someone who is financially and emotionally stable. Someone who is committed and never has the word ‘affair’, ‘divorce’, or ‘backstreet’ in his dictionary. Someone who focuses on self-development and has the courage to pursue his dream. Someone who is willing to change. Someone who can lead you. Someone who is not afraid to let you see him cry. Someone who watches you until you fall asleep, and kisses you on the forehead. Someone who finds himself lucky to have you. Someone who believes in magic.
Life’s short, so you shouldn’t waste time dating someone who doesn’t care about you, who won’t put the time to be with you, who doesn’t respect you, who calls you names and doesn’t even care if you are sick or stranded somewhere in the middle of the night. Don’t worry about whether he is romantic or whether he loves or hates your fashion taste. They’re secondary stuffs. Date someone who wants to grow old with you. Because truth is, if you don’t grow together, you’ll grow apart.
