by: Mark Else

Introduction

No doubt that at some part of your life so far you have had a crush on someone, maybe that is why you are here now.

You might also be here to find out how to tell what true love is or how to tell if he/she is the "perfect" match for you, well to be totally honest, noone can tell you who mr/mrs perfect is, and noone can tell you what true love is, because "true love" and "perfect" both mean different things for different people.

There is also two different types of love, i got taught these by an ex-girlfriend and didn't really understand them at the time.

Type one is "loving" someone, anyone can love someone, but love is just a word, and i love my mates/mum/sister/etc but it dosn't mean they are my perfect partner.

Type two is "being in love" with someone, the main difference with this one is that its not just a word, its a feeling, a feeling that you feel for a certain person. Being in love is the one that makes your heart jump into your mouth, the one that gets you excited everytime you see them, and being in love is the most important thing in a relationship, if you have two people that are totally "in love" with each other then the chances are they will have a long, strong and happy relationship.

Teen Dating PT2 - Whats What

As if life is not already confusing enough, and now we are gonna chuck in some love. Once you reach your teenage years you will no doubt start experimenting with the opposite sex, one of the things you might experiment with is dating.

Dating is a great experience, it can teach you many things, some are useless, but some things can change you for the rest of your life, because that person that has asked you on the date could be the person you spend the rest of you life with, it is a scary thought but there really aint much that you should be scared of, because its all part of the fun.

If you are ever asked out on a date here are a few bits of advice;

* Do you like the person that has asked you?

Dating is meant to be a fun experience, if your not interested in the person that has asked you, do the smart thing and say no, if you are interested in the person then great what you waiting for.

* Does this person pressure you?

If the person that has asked you tries to put pressure on you to do things that you do not want to do say no, you could still date but do not let them pressure you into things you do not want to do.

* Does this person make you feel safe?

The best thing about love is knowing that the other person makes you feel safe, if you are afraid of the person, or scared he might do something you dont want to do, its probally a good idea to skip the date.

* Do you share interest/hobbies?

If you both share similar interest/hobbies it makes dates a whole lot easier since it means that you will have something to talk about that the other person will be interested in listening to.

Teen Dating PT 3 - Further Down the Line

Once you start dating the same person for a while and the dating turns more into a relationship, you might start to feel pressurised to do more intimate things such as sex, your friends will also start asking questions such as "How far have you gone", or "have you shagged him/her yet", but you should not give into this pressure unless you really feel that you are ready.

If you do feel that you are ready to start having a sexual relationship, remember to take pre-cautions and have safe sex by using a condom and other forms of contraception, and girls don't think that its a boys job to remember a condom, it dosn't hurt you to have a couple spare. If you fail to have safe sex then you are exposing yourself to STIs and un-planned pregnancies.