Date Me Or Hate Me
Before I met my fiance I was on dating apps for a while. I had just gotten out of a long term relationship and baffled by the world of online dating. It was fast, easy and... Super superficial.
But I have become wiser, know better what I want, have more life experience. What if I were to try it again? What would my profile be like?
Honesty
For me the worst thing about dating apps was that sometimes you would see people who looked vastly different from their photos (sometimes taken more than a decade ago) or had listed things they thought you would like, but in reality just enjoyed hanging on the couch and watching Netflix.
But if you expect honesty, you should dish it out too. So I would show an honest photo of myself:
It shows what I love to do: hiking, being outside. But it also shows I am not the skinniest around, I carry some extra kilos with me. Anyone who was specifically looking for a diet freak would instantly regret the date haha, so why not be honest? After all you want them to fall for who you really are.
Being realistic
Another thing that I saw a lot was that people have all sorts of demands on dating apps. Women say they only want to date tall men, people who say 'if you don't like coffee then don't swipe' etc. The reality is though that you can say you will only date men of 1.80m and taller, but what if the love of your life is 1.79? As they say: love is blind.
So rather than being super specific I would be more broad with what I look for: an adventurous spirit, an independent mind and an ability to deal with an impatient woman (that would be me, from experience I know that two impatient people together is hell)
Of course I would also highlight my qualities as being adventurous with a picture like this one. It would be great if he would love climbing too, but not a prerequisite.
The Date
I would go for drinks, I like drinks and you don't have to spend awkward time in the cinema in silence or at a restaurant trying desperately not to spill tacos all over yourself. Also if disaster strikes you could excuse yourself and just leave. Although to be honest, I find all people, even if you know instantly you won't marry them are worth at least 2 drinks. And if it wasn't the love of your life that would also be fine of course.
