Dating is a very common activity for BYU students and often leads to lasting relationships and marriage. However, it doesn’t always end happily ever after.
This week, “The Universe” asked students to share their experiences of the most awkward dates they’ve endured.
Jared Gillett, classical civilizations studies, junior, Kansas City, Mo. – “I invited a friend to come join the date because I was a little bit apprehensive. Anyway, she dressed like a skank, and she brought a friend who was also dressed like a skank, and we kind of sat — my friend and I — on opposite ends of the corners of the rooms in my house in my basement and awkwardly sat while they moved from one board game to another manipulating everything. It was extremely awkward.”
Kristina Lai, food science, junior, Dallas, Texas – “I had a date in high school where I kind of liked him and he kind of liked me but we were kind of scared to say anything, so we didn’t talk like the entire date and we just sat stiff board straight the entire time and it was really embarrassing and we didn’t talk to each other afterward.”
Aubreyann McMullin, undeclared, junior, Tacoma, Wash. – “My first date with a guy took me to a wedding reception and that was really awkward because I didn’t know anyone. I didn’t even know him so he was introducing me to like family and friends from his ward and stuff like that.”
Ashlyn Parkinson, vocal performance, sophomore, Hemet, Calif. – “Probably I went to a dance with this guy, and I just barely moved, and I invited him to the dance because it was a girls’ choice dance and I was getting all ready and whatever and I got in the car to wherever we were going and I leaned forward and my dress ripped in the back, like the zipper broke. So he just talked to me and I knew he had gotten his tux and all this stuff and whatever and I was like ‘dang it.’ So I went inside and my mom had to try to fix it so we could get it off and then we finally got it off and then my mom had to like sew me into the dress. So I was like half an hour late to dinner and I didn’t even know him that well and so I just show up and I was like, ‘Hi, sorry, just sewing my dress.’ So that was awkward. Dinner was super awkward. But then it was OK.”
Bryson Tudor, neuroscience and French, junior, Orem – “Probably miniature golfing with this girl I got set up with who didn’t really talk.”
Krystale Preece, social science teaching, junior, Sacramento, Calif. – “Well it’s always bad when you don’t know you’re on a date and they think that it’s a date, and then at the end of it they’re like, ‘Thanks for the date,’ and you’re like, ‘Crap, that was a date?’ Like that’s pretty awkward I would say.”
Nick Jones, neuroscience, freshman, Greensville, N.C. – “I think it was my first date with one of my really good friends and I didn’t have my driver’s license yet so she drove so that part was weird. She came and picked me up. And then we went and we got Subway and everything was great and went to a park and everything was super fun, and then she just was silent the rest of the night and it was just super awkward because I was trying to talk with her and she wouldn’t talk and she would like try to put the moves on me and I was like, ‘What are you doing?’ And then we almost got in a car wreck.”
Heather Conover, administrative assistant for the coordinator for the study abroad programs – “My parents had drilled into my head that you never open a door for yourself. You let the guy open the door. This whole thing. So I got asked out by this football player and he was like the new kid in the school and very cool and everything and I was all excited about this date. And I sat there when we got out to go into the restaurant and he was like, ‘Is something wrong with the door?’ It was so embarrassing. And so I just sat there because … I was just channeling my parents’ desire. And so then he said something like, ‘Oh, you’re one of those old-fashioned types,’ or something like that and then went and opened my door and after that it wasn’t much of a fun date.”
Eric Smith, electrical engineering, senior, Salt Lake City – “When I came home from dropping her off, all of her relatives and family members happened to arrive at the exact same time and so I happened to meet her whole family and extended family all on the first date when I got back. And I was kind of trapped because I couldn’t get out because they all parked behind me and so I sat there for like 20 minutes talking to this family I’d never met before. So that was pretty awkward.”
Chris Belyeu, computer science, sophomore, Alexander City, Ala. – “I had just barely got back from my mission and a couple of my mission buddies were going rock climbing in St. George and they invited me to come down and I was like, ‘I have a date this Friday,’ and they were like, ‘Oh you should just invite her to come.’ And I have no idea how dating works in Utah so I’m like, ‘Would she be cool with that?’ and they were like, ‘Yeah sure, if she’s a cool person, she should be fine with it.’ So I invited her to come down rock climbing with the guys over the weekend and she kind of freaked out and thought I was a creeper. So that didn’t work out. And then the next week we went ahead and had the date because I had to put it off for a week, and she got somebody else to come along so it would be a double date and it was just really awkward the whole time.”
Chris Kiser, microbiology, senior, Portland, Ore. – “I had an awkward date where I asked a really good friend, and she was just a friend of mine. We had been really good friends for a long time. I remember I used to have a crush on her in eighth grade. We were just friends and I took her to a dance. And we were watching a movie after the dance and I held her hand and we realized it was really awkward because we didn’t like each other that way. We didn’t talk to each other for a little bit after that.”
Jared Resolme, biology, sophomore, San Diego, Calif. – “I think an awkward date was when I was locked out of my car by the person I was taking on a date. It was terrible. So we were on a double date and she had these feelings that she wanted to vent out about me and instead of having me be involved in the situation I got gas and she locked me out and spoke to the other people in the car and they said that she was crying because I did something and I was like, ‘Open the door,’ but she wouldn’t open it until like 10 minutes later. And then I dropped her home.”
Jordan Bagnall, business management, sophomore, Phoenix – “There was this girl that liked me for a really long time and I went on my mission. I never went out with her before my mission. And I came back from my mission and she had kind of changed and gotten more cool and I kind of felt like I wanted to date her more. So I took her out on a date and you could tell that she wasn’t comfortable the whole time. We went and saw a movie and she didn’t say anything the whole time and we went out to eat dinner and it just didn’t work and I felt super awkward the whole time.”
Laurel Odenwalder, exercise science, senior, San Diego, Calif. – “I went on a date with a guy that he told everyone in the ward we were going on a date, so when we showed up to FHE on our date, everybody in the ward including the bishop asked how the date was going. It was a five-hour long date.”
Karissa Bosco, physical education/coaching, junior, Provo – “(During) the whole process I ended up with two duck stuffed animals. I am deathly afraid of ducks as well. He took me to a park and sang to me and I can’t remember what else happened but it was all a very long awkward process.”
Matt Trappett, neuroscience, junior, Pocatello, Idaho – “One where I stayed up for 36 hours before and I fell asleep during it. It was pretty bad.”
Mary Griffin, violin performance, sophomore, Highland – “In my freshman ward they set up a date for Valentine’s where every girl had a Valentine. I was not necessarily thrilled about the idea and so like a week before, I get a call from my home teacher and he was like ‘Hey, guess what? I get to take you out on this date,’ and I was like, ‘Great. This is gonna be awesome.’ Yeah. So he picks me up and I try to start talking to this kid but he’s like so unresponsive it’s not good at all. And I was like, ‘OK, guys like sports, right?’ So I was like, ‘Do you follow football, do you follow basketball?’ and he was like, ‘I’m not really into sports’ and I was like, ‘Dang it, what else am I supposed to do?’ So luckily since it was a ward activity I was able to talk to friends but it was just hard because you’re like trying to be nice but he was being so unresponsive it was just awkward like all the way around.”
Chantelle Moon, elementary education, junior, Alpine – “So it was a blind date and the thing that made it awkward was probably just the topic of conversation was just kind of, let’s just say they had a little bit different standards than me, so it was a little awkward and my little Happy Valley mind was just like, ‘Ah what are we talking about?’ So that’s probably my most awkward date.”
Jason Rodriguez, neuroscience, freshman, Sao Paulo, Brazil – “The most awkward date I’ve been on was prom date. My prom date was very awkward. Well what happened was I didn’t know who my prom date was until the day of prom. My friend set it up and we had moved up from Brazil so I had just barely started high school and had just made some new friends and so my friend set me up with a girl to go to prom with and it was just a very awkward date. We didn’t even dance and we didn’t really talk.”
Cristina Bolanos, Latin American studies and Spanish translation, sophomore, Point Pleasant, N.J. – “I guess when a guy asked me to go on a walk with him. I guess he thought it was a date but not really because we went to get pizza afterwards. Yeah, that was really awkward.”
