Something my dad taught me a long time ago was to never say 'no' to a first date. Now, there have definitely been times I wish I had said no, like the time a guy whipped out a Spiderman jacket mid-date. But for some reason, I have stuck to my dad's advice. Here's why:
1. You never know what's going to happen.
If you never say no to a first date there are many things that could happen. You could meet your future husband. You could end up on a date with a guy you have absolutely no interest in, but if you hadn't gone on that date you might not realize that you absolutely hate guys that don't let you eat because they keep sitting closer and closer to you until you can't lift your fork (true story guys). If you say no you could possibly miss out on gaining a friend, or even a new significant other; heck, you could realize that you really really don't like dates where you share food.
2. You'll learn something new about yourself.
You are guaranteed to learn something new about yourself on a first date. Whether you have a really good time or the date is so bad that it's laughable, you'll learn something new. I have learned that I really don't like dates where guys assume I'm going to share dessert with them. I have also learned that I really don't like guys that are too into Spiderman. Something else you might learn about yourself: if a date is so bad that you make up reasons to get out of it, you might just learn how creative you are. I once got out of an ice-skating date by falling and claiming that I needed to take medicine for a surgery that I had conveniently just had on my tonsils because my head hurt really bad.
3. It takes a lot of courage to ask someone out.
I'm a very forward person, so forward in fact I made my now-boyfriend take me out on our first date. I have no problem asking someone out, but for some people it takes a lot of courage to suck it up and ask someone to go out on a date with them, and I think a majority of people know that rejection is probably the worst feeling in the world. I don't say no to first dates because I know how hard it is to stand there and have someone straight up say no to you, so if I go out with a person and don't enjoy myself or if I'm just not interested I say so after the fact. I know that may not be the best route to take but if I didn't go out with that person I might not know that I wasn't interested.
4. Life is short.
Life is too short to not jump at some things, like first dates. Where would Noah and Allie be if Allie hadn't let Noah take her out after he was hanging from that Ferris Wheel. Okay, maybe not the best example. But if you don't live your life like it's short, you're going to miss stuff. You might miss meeting a new best friend, or you might miss meeting someone that teaches you a lesson.
5. You should say 'yes' more often.
We're always told that we need to say 'no' more often, but I think that has the ability to turn people into 'no' people, when really good things could happen by saying 'yes' more often. I am definitely not saying to stop saying 'no' because let me just tell you, saying 'yes' to everything will have you working four jobs or leave you just so overstretched that you have a complete breakdown. But, I am saying that you should not discard someone right away because they don't immediately fall in to your 'type'. Say 'yes' and watch what happens, if it doesn't work out then don't worry about it, but if it does and you end up having a really good time you can thank me later.
