People tend to think that when it comes to dating that you have to spend a lot of money or get the most exquisite items for your significant other. It's that focus on materialistic things that can really take away from the remarkable dating experience. I have found that the times I enjoy the most with my significant other are the times when we spend little to no money on each other. The most memorable moments have came from the times that we decided to go on the simple dates. If you're with the right person, most of your enjoyment will come from just being able to spend time with them. That enjoyment will cause you not to worry about buying the expensive things or going to the nicest places. Now, don't get me wrong if its the right person then you will want to buy them the nice things and take them to the nice places. That's perfectly ok. Go for it. I'm just saying that it is not what it is all about. Just remember that anyone can go out and buy something nice for someone. Do the things that mean more.

This leads me to my motivation behind this article. As time goes on, I find joy in trying to figure out ways that I can come up with simple but enjoyable dates with my significant other. I have now been with my amazing girlfriend, Kaylee, for a year and a few months and the thing that never ceases to fail is our ability to find joy in the simplest of dates. From hanging out and watching a movie to looking in old antique shops, we're always finding different ways to enjoy our time with one another. Its actually became one of our strongest talents that we can turn small, simple dates into some of the most memorable and joyful moments together.

We actually enjoyed one of these dates recently. You see, with my collegiate career keeping me from home and her high school career back home, it creates a little bit of distance. We've learned that with the time that we do get to see each other out of our busy schedules should be enjoyed. With that being said, just the other day we decided to get together after a long and hectic week. To be honest, I would be wrong to not give her all of the credit for this one. She planned the whole thing out. She tends to be really good at that. It was on a Friday afternoon and the plan was that she would drive and meet me at a mall that was in between her house and my college. The greatness of this date comes from the things that weren't planned. We eventually met up at this mall and this mall wasn't the nicest or biggest mall that I have ever seen but it did have a variety of popular department store such as American Eagle and Champs. We walked around the mall looking at each store while catching up on the events of our previous week. We had almost looked in every store until one store in particular caught our eyes from around this corner. The sign read "Books-A-Million". We looked at each other and excitedly decided that we had to go there. We had only spent about 10-15 minutes looking in each of the other stores but we ended up spending a little over an hour in this bookstore. We walked up and down each isle telling each other which books we wanted to read and of course, a few that we probably wouldn't read. This may seem like a boring date in the eyes of many but we had the best time in this bookstore. It got even better once we discovered the bin of old records. Kaylee was ecstatic at this discovery. She got the biggest smile and began to glow with happiness. It felt like we spent so much time going through these bins of records. The bins contained records from old bands to new age bands and artists. The variety ranged Nirvana, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Mumford & Sons, Tove Lo, and some rap artists to name a few. We stood over this bin of records just talking about our favorite music and how we wanted to invest in a record player. Something you don't really hear kids of this age really wanting to invest in. While we explored this bookstore, it seemed like time had stopped. We were both happy without a worry in the world in that moment. A simple date had turned into a memorable and joyful experience.

I share this experience to prove that it doesn't take a lot to go on dates with your significant other. You don't need a lot of money and you don't have to go to the nicest places. Enjoy the little things with one another. Anyone can buy someone something nice or take them to a nice place. Be different. I encourage you to get to know your significant other. Learn from each other. Grow together. Put in the extra effort to find the joy in going on the dates that may not be cliche. If I can go have a great time with my girlfriend in a bookstore, then you can find something similar to enjoy. I promise you'll find enjoyment in finding the simple things that you both enjoy doing together.