Students Recount Their Un-bear-able First Dates

Picture an evening upon a hilltop, watching the rays of sun cascade over the falling hills. As you lounge on the soft grass, you peer over to your dashingly handsome date.  

In this season of love, while some people are going on the dates of their dreams, others reminisce about dates that were anything but.  

Sophomore Julia Malever endured two months of anticipation leading to her first date with a boy she had met online. Once they met, she realized the boy who she had looked up to for so long was the one gazing up at her.  

Despite her date being short, Malever hoped the date would go smoothly, but to add insult to injury, the two did not have much in common in the end.  

“He has horrible music taste and is short,” said Malever.  

Now imagine a romantic dinner date. The tender conversations, the low mood lighting, the delectable food and drink. One would do anything to savor such a moment.  

Senior Rhiannon Richardson, however, made the fatal mistake of spilling her overpriced California Pizza Kitchen drink all over.  

“I spilled it all over myself, the floor, everywhere. It was so humiliating,” said Richardson. Her date then asked the waitress for a children’s cup with a lid to prevent another spill from happening.  

On the bright side, the light at the end of the tunnel for Richardson is her date still being her boyfriend four years later.  

Unfortunately, not all bad dates have a silver lining.  

Once upon a time on a cold February night, sophomore Madeline Smith curled her hair, picked out her best outfit and did her nails in nervous anticipation for her date to pick her up.  

Smith waited and waited and waited for a grueling 60 minutes before her date arrived unfashionably late.  

“At first I was excited because he told me we were going to his favorite restaurant. I didn’t know that his favorite restaurant is QuikTrip,” said Smith.  

She recalls her date excitedly parading her up and down the labyrinth of aisles at the gas station and offering to pay for whatever luxurious item her heart desired.  

For better or for worse, Smith called her mom to pick her up before her date could even show her the slushie machines. 

Since then, Smith has sworn off Valentine’s Day, saying it’s overrated.  

While some dates don’t live up to picture-perfect expectations, they are stories worth more than a box of chocolates.