What Advice I have for Girls Looking For Love

The Mormon Bachelorette has taken my life by storm!!! And oh, what a storm it has been. Through countless hours interviewing potential suitors for my gorgeous roommate Aubrey Messick I have met some of the most interesting and wonderful guys out there. I have also learned a lot about the state of dating in the LDS community as conversations usually end up going toward this little experiment we are doing. Good, bad, ugly, pathetic, and misunderstood have all been represented. But love triumphs in the end and the Mormon Bachelorette is going fabulously well. Miss Messick has been on 4 dates already and I was privileged enough to tag along as the videographer for Date #2 with Rick Buck. What a wonderful guy and fun date that was (at least from an observer's point of view).

All of the dating talk led to a request for a interview yesterday with The Daily Universe at BYU. While studying at BYU I didn't read the DU very often, however, now I enthusiastically compare it to the New York Times. What great publicity! At one point, Kayla, our reporter, asked us to give advice for the girls at BYU looking for love. So, as a single, 30-year old, LDS girl that escaped BYU without anything weighing down her left ring finger, I am naturally the best person to give dating advice. I feel like it is my responsibility and obligation to share it with you now. (OK that was written facetiously but pay close attention:)
1. HAVE FUN! Dating should be fun - if you don't have fun you surely won't fall in love. Sometimes we put too much pressure on dating. You may have crazy chemistry with someone and all you want to do is make out but let me tell you - hold back. Those usually burn out quickly. The best relationships I have had are truly based on friendships... as long as you don't feel like you are kissing your brother when it actually gets to that point.
2. DON'T DATE IDIOTS! Personal experience leads me to believe that idiots can be good friends, but not good boyfriends (this goes for girlfriends too). Many things can qualify a person to be categorized as such but here is also a bit of advice. Not every guy is an idiot just because he doesn't like you enough (this goes against everything my dad says to me when a boy doesn't like me enough). It applies more to situations when you just are not treated right. Don't accept anything but the utmost respect in all interactions.
3. IF YOU SEE RED FLAGS RUN! I used to try and fix every guy I dated and as a service-oriented person I was happy to do so. But you don't need to date guys that need to be fixed. You can do that as a friend. My Uncle Stan once said to a boy I brought home for a family party, "you seem pretty normal, are you sure you haven't been in jail, on heroin or meth or had a serious addiction to pornography? We are just confused as to why Erin would want to date you." Thanks Uncle... love you:) Let the guy fix himself, then date him. As Ryan Seacrest said last week on 102.7 - "don't take on the issues, it only gets worse". That doesn't mean you can't have a great and healthy relationship with someone who has had issues in the past, just date them when those things are truly in the past.
4. IF YOU FEEL LIKE THROWING UP WHEN THEY KISS YOU STOP DATING THEM! Obvious right? I think sometimes when we get lonely we date the guy that is chasing us, even though we have sub-zero feelings for him. Don't get me wrong, sometimes those feelings develop, but when you think you are kissing your brother when he tries to put on the moves it is time to say goodbye. Be lonely for awhile - it is better than leading a guy down a dead-end path. You will then be free to date someone who makes you feel weak in the knees as well. Win win situations are my favorite.
5. HAVE FUN WITH YOUR GIRLFRIENDS WITHOUT BOYS AROUND! This will make you even more attractive to the opposite sex and you will appear more available. For example, this week my friend Leslie and I went to a Chivas USA soccer end of the year party. I could have asked a guy to be my date but I thought, "cute soccer players? I need a wing girl." Let me tell you, Leslie is the best wing girl around. We had such a blast and even got asked out on a double date by two guys that were probably 10 years younger than us. But it still worked... Here is the evidence of our great time together...

6. DON'T WORRY AND BE POSITIVE! I think we worry far too much about finding the right guy and not enough about living life to the fullest. Don't let the last crazy you dated get you down! Move onward and upward and you can never go wrong!
OK enough dating advice from me. It is now 12:41am so I need to go edit the latest Mormon Bachelorette video.
Here's to finding true Mormon love...