You can’t just change the date at the last minute. 

First dates can be the best or the worst time of your life. A lot of expectations and doubts occur about a first date. We don’t know a lot of things: like who is paying, if it will be split, or whether they are going to dress accordingly, if they will be funny or annoying, serious or somber. We think we know who we are meeting as we have been texting beforehand, but we really don’t. This is a stranger with whom we happened to hit it off over text. But it can all go downhill no matter how much chemistry you had over text. It can easily be the best person to message but the worst to keep a live conversation going. Or the other way around, they can be a little dry through text but extremely nice and upbeat in real life. It all depends on the person you are having this date with; in the end, that is the only thing that matters. 

I haven’t been to a ton of first dates, but I’ve had enough to know the signs that will tell me whether that person is a keep or if I should run. I never had an awful first date; at least nobody asked me to go to a family gathering on the first date. But I did have some really good ones. I’m not an expert of any kind, but I do have expectations when I go out with someone for the first time. Firstly, I like to go to a public place; a cafe would be the best place as the music is nice and low for maintaining a conversation but not too intimate to make things uncomfortable. Secondly, I won’t go out with someone whom I haven’t texted first; I need to get a grip on your personality first. It doesn’t matter if I already know them in person; I need to know how good of a texter they are. And thirdly, if you say one thing that makes me uncomfortable during the date, then I’m a goner. I will not stay seated if I’m having a bad time; I will pay for my things and leave instantly. If I wanted to be in a bad place, I would go to a horror movie, not spend an afternoon with a stranger. 

These are my rules for first dates, but I know for a fact that they don’t matter when you meet the right person —except for the last one; that one is always a must-follow. Every person is unique, and they have their own rules about them. The most important thing is to hit it off with the other person and enjoy a nice time together. In the end, when you meet the last person, that first date will probably be amazing no matter what that first date looks like. It can be a date at a 5-star restaurant and be awful, or the best one: a simple picnic in the park.