If there is one thing my generation lacks it is self-respect. I could rant for hours about how we need to go back to being picked up at the front door for a first date and how we are losing touch with the true meaning of commitment but those are things that have been said a thousand times. Although I truly wish we could go back to “old style” dating there is a lot to be said about what our generation is doing and why we are doing things SO wrong. As individuals, we need a reality check of not what society is doing wrong but what we as individuals are doing wrong.

To the guy who wants to “Netflix and chill”,

It seems like there is a lot to be said about the girls that make the mistake to "Netflix and chill" with you, even when they think they were just hanging out with you or what they thought was a date but no one ever seems to have anything to say about you. So here it is, where is your self-respect and your respect for women? Why do you think it is okay to skip meeting the girl’s parents, skip the long talks and getting to know her? Why do you lack so much respect for yourself that you think it is okay to skip every genuine aspect of a relationship and go straight to hooking up? Do you really disrespect yourself and the female gender so much that dating and actually taking care of someone the right way just “isn’t your style”? I truly feel bad for you.

For now on when a guy makes a sexual comment or asks to Netflix and chill. The thought doesn’t even cross my mind, but what does cross my mind is the fact that he must not be good enough or interesting enough to have an actual relationship with me. I have come to realize it is his loss and not mine. So many times I played the sexual jokes off so I could keep talking to the guy or went to his house thinking he had good intentions but every single time, I was wrong.

So to all the ladies out there being asked to “hook up”: A man that respects you and a man that DESERVES your attention will take you out and wants to do more on a date with you than just “hook up.” Have enough respect for yourself to realize that you deserve better than someone who wants to lay in a dark room and “chill”. You deserve to be taken out on a real date and you deserve to be with someone that wants to show you off, not someone who just wants to just bring you into their bedroom. Hold on closely to your self-respect, close enough that you realize how you deserve to be treated.

As time moves forward and I get a new perspective on life, remembering our generation and watching the new generations after me grow. There are many things I could say, but the most important, respect yourself. Have enough respect for yourself to say no and stand your ground. Have clarity when looking at the way others treat you and deciding who deserves your time. Life is short and it is defiantly not worth wasting a night in some guy’s bedroom or wasting multiple nights “Netflix and chilling” when you could be out exploring the world with someone who truly loves you. You are worth more than a night of "chilling".