We’ve all experienced the one bad heartbreak that had us crying in the arms of a loved one before getting the classic “there are other fish in the sea” speech.
Even though it seems annoying to hear in the moment, it is true. Just because one person broke your heart doesn’t mean that there’s no one else out there who will love you. True love is not worth passing up, but having a type could cause you to miss the opportunity of finding your true soulmate.
By subjecting yourself to being romantically involved with a specific type of person, you are setting yourself up for negative outlooks in a relationship. If you live in a bubble and only interact with specific people, you could be missing out on the other realities of the world — ones you might not even know to look for.
Having an open mind when it comes to dating is an invitation to potential, healthy relationships. Being closed off to a person’s features or how much money they make can prevent you from getting to know them for who they truly are.
Meeting people with different cultural, socioeconomic or geographical backgrounds than yours allows them to teach you as well. It's good for both people. This can be attractive in some ways to have your potential significant other introduce you to things you have never seen before.
This "not having a type" theory could be helpful for people who keep finding themselves in toxic relationships with the same types of people who show similar qualities. Oftentimes, people who have toxic relationships also have a pattern and a type they keep going for. This is part of the reason why negative outcomes always occur in these situations.
Independent journalist Charley Ross wrote an article about having a type and said “it’s an easy way of creating a 'comfort blanket' in the scary world of dating, by assuring yourself that you know what you’re looking for. But actually, you can miss out on a load of wonderful people with that mindset, and it is very limiting... You may run a higher risk of settling for the wrong relationship if you don’t step away from your perceived 'type' every once in a while.”
The benefits of not depending on the security blanket of a type in dating allow you to see if you and the person are truly compatible. Sometimes, with a type, you can almost force yourself to stay with them or like them because they appear as someone you’ve always wanted.
When you're trying to find your true love, you never want to limit your options. When you’re young and in college, especially, the last thing you should be doing is limiting your options. How will you ever know what you actually like if you only settle for one type of person? Explore your options and find out more about yourself.
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Jakai Spikes, senior in Journalism, is a writer at The Auburn Plainsman.
