When I was 15, I went on my first date. I was a freshman in high school, and this was my first time ever hanging out with a boy, let alone being alone with one. To say I was nervous was an understatement! My stomach was a pit, and my hands were so sweaty I could have filled up a swimming pool. It was awful!
It was a cool, October day, and he came and picked me up at my house. I was absolutely mortified that he had to pick me up as I could not yet drive. Looking back, it was definitely better than my parents driving me. We then embarked on an awkward journey to the Eagan Outlet Mall. To be honest, I don’t think either of us spoke during the nearly 30-minute car ride. We listened to music, and sang under our breaths both thinking “who is this person sitting next to me” and obsessively worrying about looking stupid.
We finally made it to the outlet mall, and to say it was the perfect day. Although it was October, there was a perfect flurry of snow falling down. The paths were beautifully lit with lanterns, and the snow sparkled on the sidewalk. It was cold, but not too cold. In an attempt to be cool I decided not to wear a jacket and instead wore a crop top (obviously a jacket would take away from the hot factor.) In hindsight that was a bad idea, it was really, really cold! He did offer me his jacket multiple times, which was incredibly sweet, but I was too stubborn to take it.
We then proceeded to walk around the mall. We went in and out of stores, and tried on tons of clothes. He may or may not have tried to get into the dressing room with me… on the first date! Needless to say, he wasn’t successful in this attempt.
After walking around for a while, my stubbornness nearly making me freeze to death, we made a stop at Starbucks for some hot chocolate. With hot chocolate in our hands we made one final lap around the mall before heading home. It was like walking around in a snowglobe as the sun started to set, snow falling perfectly upon us and the hot chocolate warming our souls.
We walked, talking about everything under the sun, laughing until we couldn’t breathe. Each of us felt an indescribably strong pull to hold hands. I was too shy and he was worried it was too soon after I had just kicked him out of the dressing room. Unfortunately, neither of us got the courage to do it. To this day, I still love making fun of him for not holding my hand
Three years later and we are still together. We have grown up a lot since our awkward first date at 15 and 16-years-old. We have gone on many dates and he even holds my hand. If that isn’t progress, I don’t know what is! Boys are weird, confusing, and sometimes make you question whether they understand proper first date etiquette, but if you find a good one, be sure to never let go. The good ones will change your life for the better and make you happier then you could have ever imagined.
