The Dating Lists

When you're single, you read these to make sure you don't do them. When you're in a relationship, you read these to see if you've done them. The dating "Do's" and "Dont's" of getting that second date, is a list that everyone from Cosmo, relationship websites, Maxim, etc share with us readers on a regular basis because we supposedly need these guidelines to hook the perfect mate. But how many of us don't follow these guidelines or follow them without even knowing we're doing it?

You're suppose to keep the first date simple with general questions like how many siblings you have and what's your favorite movie? You don't want to mention ex-boyfriends/girlfriends, religion, politics because these are the topics that scare people away. Do they really? Is knowing that you have been in a previous relationship all that scary? Is knowing if you're dating a Republican or an atheist really that bad? Personally I think these are things you should know right away. Why waste your time?

And if you follow the "rules" of dating, does that mean you'll end up in the perfect relationship? Marriage, kids, house: Are these in your future? When I look at relationships, I think of it this way: Relationships are what we enter into to find someone to spend the rest of our life with. When I starting writing "Not if You Were the Last Man on Earth," I wanted to write about my journey into relationships and finding that special someone. I wanted people to know my experiences, my ups and downs, and what I've learned. It's a journey most of us embark on. We get off the train at different stops and some of us get right back on again to find another stop with better opportunities.