Out of all the things my mom has told me, "Don't fall for just a pretty face" is definitely one of the truest.
When you were younger, you would always see the drop-dead gorgeous men win the heart of a damsel in distress while the nerdy guy, chubby guy or really anyone not in a football jersey continued on his lonesome way. We've been conditioned to believe that if the human you are particularly fond of does not have abs you can fry an egg on, he's probably not the one for you.
...what?
That is so far from reality it's almost laughable. People all over the world date where a girlfriend is taller than her boyfriend, a boyfriend is chubbier than his boyfriend, or maybe your girlfriend has acne and you don't. Who cares? We weren't created to look like the bride and groom on top of a wedding cake. I believe one of life's greatest offerings is love, and finding someone you can share that love with who can love you in return is a beautiful thing. What isn't beautiful is refusing to give someone a chance based on their exterior.
I don't want to date, and eventually marry, someone I can parade around like a trophy. The person I choose to be with is not for show (unless we go out to dinner and he wears the button up I like.. then I might ask him to give a little twirl.) I want someone I can wear a large t-shirt and no pants around and they still think I look just as good as I would on a Friday or Saturday night. I'd give the not-so-stereotypical guy who actually contributes intellectual conversation a chance over McDreamy 2.0 that only talks about sports and his biceps any day.
I don't consider dating a game and I don't consider it a competition. I'm with you because I choose to be and because you contribute to my life in a positive way. I'm not in the business of "using" an individual to make another one jealous because, frankly, that's petty and manipulative and too much of a throwback to high school for me.
Date someone who makes you proud, who inspires you. Date someone who pushes you to be better. Date someone you can grow with every day. Date someone you can laugh with, dance with, cry with. Dating is so much more than clever captions and cute pictures on Instagram.
