I’m Not Good At Dating, But I Know How To Love

Author : Marisa Donnelly

I’ll be honest. I’m not good at dating. I’m not good at “let’s be casual,” or “we’re just messing around,” or “we’ll see where this goes.”




See, that’s the thing—I want to know where this is going before I even get started. I want to know the purpose, the direction, the point—because why have something meaningless? Life’s too damn short for meaningless.

No, I’m not crazy. (Only sometimes.) I don’t need to know your favorite color, your deepest fear, and if you think you’ll fall in love with me on our very first date. But I’d like to. I’d like to know the way your mind works, if it’s calm and patient, nervous and hesitant, or if you’re just as passionate and scatter-brained as me.



Know if you are with the right person.

Related: 11 Ways Love Feels Differently When You’re With The Right Person

I want to know where this is going before I even get started.

I want to know everything about you, from the things that make you laugh to the first time you cried. I want to know if you love your mother if you envy your older brother if nothing you’ve experienced will ever compare to the feeling of stepping on a football field. And I want you to tell me all of that.




I am not good at dating but I know how to love

I want to know you, really know you. And I want to fall into you, unafraid.

See, I’m not good at dating, at small talk, at stuffy dinner dates where we skirt around the deep questions because we don’t want to scare each other off.

I don’t care if I scare you off. If I can’t know who you are, then why bother sitting across the table, sharing bites of steak and sips of wine, and pretending this is going somewhere when it’s not.

I want us to go somewhere, not sit stagnantly and still. Love isn’t stagnant and still.

And I’m not the ‘we’re just messing around’ type of girl. I don’t ‘mess around.’ I think that’s stupid. Why give you pieces of myself when you can’t even commit to staying? I won’t be able to make you fall in love with me, and frankly, I shouldn’t have to try. So no, I won’t ‘mess around’ because, at the end of the day, we’re just wasting each other’s time. We’re just keeping one another from falling in love.

Related: Dating A Good Guy After A Toxic Relationship

And no matter how we try to convince ourselves otherwise, that’s what we’re all searching for.




I’m not good at casual. I’m the opposite of casual. Because ‘casual’ is synonymous for purposeless and I’ve always had a sense of direction.

Here’s the thing, I don’t understand the dating world. I don’t understand the quickness, the half-heartedness, the jumping from person to person, and the ‘feeling things out’. When I spend time with someone, when I start to get to know them, when I let them start to get to know me, that’s everything.

Not Good At Dating

I don’t know how to shut off the stream of emotions, the excited butterflies when I hear their name, the passion I feel for wanting to discover who they are behind their surface.

I can’t help wanting to fall for them. Not nervously, not hesitantly, and sure as hell not casually. Is that so wrong?

I don’t know, maybe I’m strange. Maybe I’m crazy. Maybe I’m too much. All I know is I have no clue how to date. I’m the girl that falls in love. But I’m the girl that makes you unafraid to fall, too.


I’m Not Good At Dating, But I Know How To Love pin
Im Not Good At Dating Know How To Love pin


Published On:

Last updated on:

Marisa Donnelly

Marisa Donnelly is a Midwest-born, West Coast-based writer, poet, essayist, and editor. She is the author of the poetry collection, Somewhere On A Highway and the founder of the remote writing coaching/editing services company, Be A Light LLC (bealightcollective.com).

Disclaimer: The informational content on The Minds Journal have been created and reviewed by qualified mental health professionals. They are intended solely for educational and self-awareness purposes and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are experiencing emotional distress or have concerns about your mental health, please seek help from a licensed mental health professional or healthcare provider.

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I’ll be honest. I’m not good at dating. I’m not good at “let’s be casual,” or “we’re just messing around,” or “we’ll see where this goes.”




See, that’s the thing—I want to know where this is going before I even get started. I want to know the purpose, the direction, the point—because why have something meaningless? Life’s too damn short for meaningless.

No, I’m not crazy. (Only sometimes.) I don’t need to know your favorite color, your deepest fear, and if you think you’ll fall in love with me on our very first date. But I’d like to. I’d like to know the way your mind works, if it’s calm and patient, nervous and hesitant, or if you’re just as passionate and scatter-brained as me.



Know if you are with the right person.

Related: 11 Ways Love Feels Differently When You’re With The Right Person

I want to know where this is going before I even get started.

I want to know everything about you, from the things that make you laugh to the first time you cried. I want to know if you love your mother if you envy your older brother if nothing you’ve experienced will ever compare to the feeling of stepping on a football field. And I want you to tell me all of that.




I am not good at dating but I know how to love

I want to know you, really know you. And I want to fall into you, unafraid.

See, I’m not good at dating, at small talk, at stuffy dinner dates where we skirt around the deep questions because we don’t want to scare each other off.

I don’t care if I scare you off. If I can’t know who you are, then why bother sitting across the table, sharing bites of steak and sips of wine, and pretending this is going somewhere when it’s not.

I want us to go somewhere, not sit stagnantly and still. Love isn’t stagnant and still.

And I’m not the ‘we’re just messing around’ type of girl. I don’t ‘mess around.’ I think that’s stupid. Why give you pieces of myself when you can’t even commit to staying? I won’t be able to make you fall in love with me, and frankly, I shouldn’t have to try. So no, I won’t ‘mess around’ because, at the end of the day, we’re just wasting each other’s time. We’re just keeping one another from falling in love.

Related: Dating A Good Guy After A Toxic Relationship

And no matter how we try to convince ourselves otherwise, that’s what we’re all searching for.




I’m not good at casual. I’m the opposite of casual. Because ‘casual’ is synonymous for purposeless and I’ve always had a sense of direction.

Here’s the thing, I don’t understand the dating world. I don’t understand the quickness, the half-heartedness, the jumping from person to person, and the ‘feeling things out’. When I spend time with someone, when I start to get to know them, when I let them start to get to know me, that’s everything.

Not Good At Dating

I don’t know how to shut off the stream of emotions, the excited butterflies when I hear their name, the passion I feel for wanting to discover who they are behind their surface.

I can’t help wanting to fall for them. Not nervously, not hesitantly, and sure as hell not casually. Is that so wrong?

I don’t know, maybe I’m strange. Maybe I’m crazy. Maybe I’m too much. All I know is I have no clue how to date. I’m the girl that falls in love. But I’m the girl that makes you unafraid to fall, too.


I’m Not Good At Dating, But I Know How To Love pin
Im Not Good At Dating Know How To Love pin


Published On:

Last updated on:

Marisa Donnelly

Marisa Donnelly is a Midwest-born, West Coast-based writer, poet, essayist, and editor. She is the author of the poetry collection, Somewhere On A Highway and the founder of the remote writing coaching/editing services company, Be A Light LLC (bealightcollective.com).

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