Let's go on a date ?

 

I was amazing to see this week, how we can learn and go deep with just a little subject. I mean, this week we were talking about dates, and trying to see all the theories behind that, and it was kind of funny to see all the comments around this. First, I just figured out that in American culture, date in something very different, especially in Rexburg or Utah. I would try to explain the differences I saw between this region in America and my home country, Brazil.

First of all, I can see that sometimes, date can be something really seriously, but sometimes don’t. It depends in how well interested you are in a person. For example, if you have a high school crush and ask her out for a date, that should be a huge event, and you would probably want to date her as many as you can, and try to impress her so she can become your girlfriend one day. On the other hand, if you are in college and is just trying to make new friends, you can ask someone in a date, but that doesn’t mean you want this person to be in a relationship with you. For international students who arrive in United States, that could be hard to understand in real world. Second, in this culture, you can invite and be dating with more than a person at the same time. That practice in my country would be something crazy and confusing at the same time. I hear a friend in one of my English classes saying that he was trying to guess if this girl was really interested on him, or just wanting to make new friends, because first he was dating with this girl, but few days later she invited his friend out, and that was awkward for him as a international student. Personally, I am glad that in Brazil things are clearer than in Unites States. Basically, you don`t invite anyone out unless you really want to build a relationship with this person. So, if receive an invitation, you can know for sure that something can happening between you and your partner. I just think this way its much better since you can be aware of misunderstandings. Another difference we can see is how is dating format outside church, or in other words, how dating is outside Rexburg or Salt Lake City bubble. I never went to big metropoles here in United States, but I can guess that because of the rush live people have in places like New York, Boston, San Francisco or Los Angeles, people don’t want to lose time with little dates, so I guess is something deeper even in a sexual way. I say this because this is exactly what happens in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the place I came from. Almost all my friends were from outside the church, even in school, my brother and I were the only member of the church, so we often saw many dating happening around was, and to be honest at the beginning it seems like something good, some you would love to do, but then few months later, you start to see how this little relationships affected ones life real quick. Young people started to feel anxiety, frustration and even depression because a single date just went wrong. I can still remember on the other hand, something even deeper like a teenager friend being pregnant because a single date happened, and then she would have her hole life with this little baby that is a fruit of a date. I hope youth in church, or even outside church can learn from that and be aware of what a simple date can bring to your life.