Okay, so, I’ve been seeing this guy, right? And things are going… well, they’re going. But I started to wonder, is he really my boyfriend, or are we just dating? It’s like, how do you even tell the difference nowadays? I did what any normal person would do, I Googled it. Of course, I found a bunch of articles, and they had some good points, but honestly, it just made me more confused.
So, I decided to take matters into my own hands. First, I started paying more attention to how much he actually prioritized me. Like, did he make time for me, or was I just an afterthought? I noticed he did start to clear his schedule more often when I suggested we hang out. That was a good sign, I guess.
Then, I really thought about our conversations. Did we talk about the future at all, or was it just surface-level stuff? I realized we did talk about things we wanted to do together, like, down the road. Not just next weekend. We even joked about going on a trip to Europe or getting a dog together. Which, I mean, that’s not nothing, right?
But here’s the thing, I also started to observe how he acted around his friends and family. Did he introduce me as his girlfriend, or was it always just “This is my friend, [my name]”? The first few times we hung out with his friends, it was always just “my friend”. But, after a few weeks, he started saying “my girlfriend” without me even bringing it up. Huge change, right?
The biggest thing, though, was when I straight-up asked him. Yeah, I know, super direct. But I was tired of overthinking it. I just said, “Hey, so, are we, like, official, or what?” And he laughed, but then he said, “Yeah, I thought we were.” He explained that he thought we were on the same page and just, you know, hadn’t made a big deal about labels. I started to feel so much better.
- Paying attention to whether he makes me a priority.
- Reflecting on the depth of our conversations about the future.
- Observing how he introduces me to his friends and family.
- Directly asking him about the status of our relationship.
So, yeah, turns out he is my boyfriend. We just never had that “define the relationship” talk. But through all this, I learned that it’s important to pay attention to the little things, but also to just communicate. It’s way less stressful than trying to read someone’s mind, trust me.
Anyways that’s my experience about figuring out the dating vs boyfriend dilemma. It was a journey, but we got there. I hope my little experiment helps someone else out there who’s feeling just as confused as I was. Just remember to pay attention and, most importantly, talk to the person you’re seeing. It might feel scary, but I am certain it’s worth it in the end.
