How I Prepped for a Cool Date in 3 Easy Steps

Growing up, my family dressed me one way but I knew very early how I wanted to dress myself. When I was all grown up and looking for some cool people to date and hoped I would find a good match for who I really am, here is what I found. 

I discovered a couple free dating apps for differently-abled individuals and people of different genders that I didn’t know much about before. 

The first app I checked out matches my neurodiverse qualities. It’s a dating app called Hiki that’s designed for neurodiverse people with Autism to connect. It looks like it provides many options for me to meet other kinds of neurodiverse people through digital dating. 

Another free app that I checked out is an app called Datability. I saw that this app is described as an app for diversity and inclusion and people of all genders. For my dating preferences, it looks like it’s worth exploring just based on the description.

Of course, there are many more dating apps out there and I think everyone has to select an app that they like best.

I will say that whenever anyone said the words dating app to me before, all I could think about was whether I would swipe right or left.  Well, whether I have to take a little time to decide whether to swipe left or right, I am open to using online apps to look for dates because I don’t get time otherwise with my daily schedule to find dates. So if an app can help, I think it’s a great place for me to meet like-minded people who I can date. 

What I did not expect was for a friend to set me up on a date right before I got a chance to go on a date with someone I expected to find on the dating apps I was keeping my eyes on.

My friend had arranged a Blind Date for me which would actually be a double date with him and his date and I ended up accepting his offer.  

No matter how I found this date, I knew I had to prep for my date. 

All I knew was that we would be going to a casually dressed Italian restaurant and that my date had very similar differently-abled needs as me and liked dating different genders.

 I was ready to date but part of me felt like this was going to be so nerve-racking to prep for this date and I was anxious just to say the least.

Here’s how I ended up prepping for this dinner date in 3 easy steps by keeping my own Dating-Prep tips in mind:

1. I considered my Dress & Style:  I kept it casual and dressed in comfortable jeans and chose my black denim jeans but could easily have chosen blue denim jeans to pair with my white sweater or white long-sleeve T-shirt. I like wearing adaptive-style clothing with jeans that have easy closures like magnetic buttons or velcro snaps. I would say as long as my clothing feels comfy and sensory-friendly then I am good to go on any date.

I did not think I needed anything other than my daily sunscreen on my face for my gender. My pronouns are- his and him, however, I know other genders may want to do a little light makeup for a casual look on casual dates like this.

2. I considered Accessibility Needs for both me & my Date:  Yes, I took accessibility needs into consideration. I knew this was not only important for me but for my date as well. 

Nothing was off the table and I put everything on the table because it seemed like everything was on my mind ranging from mobility aides to assistive technology that I thought would help us to communicate better.

3. I considered having a Positive Dating Mindset:  I even prepped my mind with positive affirmations to make this a positive date. I would say affirmations like -“I am enough”, “I am bold and beautiful”, and “I can make a great date”, and speak other positive words over myself. I knew I needed to focus on my abilities or similar abilities my date would have in common with me and not any limitations or stigmas that other people in society may place on us. 

When I finally met my date, I liked everything I saw. Just to name a few things I liked on my date- warm eyes, a bright smile, casual but stylish dark denim jeans, and a black shirt that I felt complemented my style very well. I liked that we found ourselves picking up our glasses to toast to some of the things we had in common like both of us being hard-core fans of some of the same sports teams.

My date turned out great in the end simply because of those 3 easy steps. I now plan to apply these steps to future dates whether I date the same person or go on dates with other people.

#DigitalDating, #Datingapps,#Differently-abled, #Inclusivity,#Diversity #Datability,#Hiki,#RunwayOfDreams

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