WE usually describe dates as something cute, with romance, connection, and butterflies in the stomach. It’s all very movie-like, but we know that reality is often different. Sometimes dates don’t go as well as we hoped, and all they leave us with is an awkward anecdote, embarrassing moments, and the urge to pretend we don’t know that person every time we see them. But they also leave us with a new story or piece of gossip to tell. We always talk about young people’s failed dates, as if only we could be embarrassed in love. But we forget one small detail: adults also went on dates, even teachers. Although today we see them grading exams and assigning lots of homework, they also once sat across from someone thinking: “I hope this ends soon.” So the real question is, if our dates are already a disaster…. What must teachers’ worst dates have been like?

“Well, I think dating was always fun. The sad part was when the relationship ended or someone cheated. But personally, I don’t remember any bad experiences from dating in my teens. What I do remember is a date my daughter went on that I could tell you about. You know that typical parent phrase, ‘No matter what time or where you are, if anything happens, call me.’ Well, that was the first and only time my daughter used it. She went out to lunch with her date. They were talking, eating, and enjoying themselves until they ended up having a deeper and more controversial conversation, to the point that he made a comment like, ‘Women are to blame for being raped because of how they dress or groom themselves, since they are provocative.’ Upon hearing that, my daughter remembered the phrase I used to say to her, and she didn’t hesitate to call me right away. Without thinking twice, I went to pick her up, and she never spoke to that young man again,” Mr. Gibbons said.

“When I was about 22, a girl of about 19 asked me out, which I found strange because it’s not what you’d expect when I’m the man. Anyway, I decided to accept the date. She picked me up in her car and, to be honest, we spent about five minutes without even talking, just sitting there feeling uncomfortable. I decided to break the silence by asking where we were going, to which she replied that she didn’t know. At the time, I thought it was super weird she was the one who asked me out, and she didn’t know where we were going?! In the end, I suggested going to a restaurant, and we ended up at Chick-fil-A. There, we ended up talking about relationships and love, and I realized that she didn’t know how to deal with guys, so I ended up teaching her how to treat them. I didn’t see her again after that night, but at least I was able to teach her that lesson,” Profe Black said.

“The date was at a minigolf course that used to be near Maverick, and honestly, from the moment we arrived, I felt that something wasn’t right. I was 16 years old, and at first I did want to go out with him, but as soon as I saw the place, I started to regret it because it was nothing like I had imagined. I tried to act normal and have a good time, but things quickly became awkward when, while we were playing, he accidentally hit me on the back of my foot with the golf club. It hurt quite a bit, and it was also super embarrassing because there were other young people around. After that, I didn’t feel like playing anymore or even being there, and any excitement I had about the date completely disappeared. In the end, what was supposed to be a fun outing ended up being an uncomfortable experience that now just serves as another bad date story to tell,” Ms. Bri said.

Once, I went out with a guy I liked, but apparently, my friend liked him too, so that was already a bit of a problem from the start. We were at the movies watching Up, and he was sick, coughing every two seconds, and to top it off, he was picking his nose in front of our food. I couldn’t believe what was happening. I was 18 and thought I was ready for any date, but this showed me I wasn’t ready yet. Between the coughing, the boogers, and the sad Pixar movie, everything became super awkward, and I couldn’t stop wondering how I had ended up there. Literally, this was one of those dates where I said, ‘Is this real?’ and then I just ran to tell all my friends so we could laugh about it for a while,” Ms Skoy said.

Teachers worst dates sound terrible. Often, the place was weird or not what they expected; other times, the person does things that don’t make sense or make them uncomfortable, and they just wanted the date to end.

But there’s also something funny because later they can talk about it and laugh at how badly it went -— no one is safe from disastrous dates. There are always stories to remember, often to share with friends, because even if they were horrible, they also serve as lessons so no one ever makes the same mistakes next time.