If you’re anything like me, you’re curious about returning to the dating field this summer. The phrase and hashtag #hotgirlsummer on TikTok and beyond has blown up. The weather is warming up, and the girls are becoming eager to get outside to enjoy men, fun, girlfriends, and fantastic weather. With horror stories circulating the internet, many women are not interested in dating apps. Still, they find creative ways to meet potential suitors, like attending alumni mixers, day parties, hiking, and happy hours. But what if you need some help navigating your hot girl summer dating-wise? We have you covered. Check out our tips for a successful hot girl summer dating season from relationship expert Beverley Andre below.
Commit to the process: Fully commit. If you’re going to do it, be all in. If you’re going to make or accept plans, commit to showing up. Find the energy because pump faking is not allowed during hot girl summer. Think about the possibilities on the other side of your being fully committed.
Be outside: You need to get outside. Free yourself from the shackles of dating apps and actually go outside and talk to people. You want to diversify your pool of potential baes.
Gather your girlfriends: Have a wingman. If you find speaking to people on the fly uncomfortable or scary, having a wingman can help ease the tension by doing intros or scouting out a potential bae.
Be discerning: Be safe! Share your location, appearance, and details of your dates with close friends and family so that at least one person is aware of where you are.
Remain healthy: Know your status and theirs. It’s essential to be up to date on STD testing, especially if you plan on engaging in sexual activity. Take it a step further and be comfortable with discussing status early on in your interactions this summer. Protection goes beyond just using contraceptives.
Be clear: Define what success means to you. Have a clear picture of what you want hot girl summer to be for you. It could be jumping back into the dating pool and engaging in a summer romance. Or do you want to do early scouting for cuffing season and want to end summer with a bae?
Vocalize your desires: Communicate your expectations. Honesty is the best policy; you want to operate clearly, not confusedly. There’s nothing worse than realizing you and a potential beau have misaligned expectations.
Be spontaneous: Leave room for surprises. Even if you clearly understand how you want this summer to pan out, allow life to surprise and delight you. Instead of maintaining a rigid path, be flexible when navigating the summer months and aggressively curate experiences to yield specific results.
Know your limits: Respect your boundaries and the boundaries of whomever you’re engaging with. This will require clear and consistent communication, so be sure you’ve given yourself enough time to know your rules of engagement and asked enough clarifying questions to understand theirs.
Continue to level up: Be your best self. Summer is a great time to explore yourself and discover new hobbies, which you can do with a potential beau. You never know who you might meet on the pickleball courts or in a running club.