School’S Out

Society definitely believes women must date men older than they are; no one considers that there are real feelings involved in dating younger. I met a guy who was in grade nine when I was in grade 12. His height and appearance made him look older than 18. When he finally asked me out, he told me he was 17, so I didn’t mind the one-year age gap that much. We were together for about six months. He was nice; he listened, and he was the type I would usually go for in terms of appearance. I honestly liked him.

But once I found out he was actually 15, I lost so much interest. I started seeing the child in him and hardly took him seriously because I felt he lacked maturity – that was definitely something that irked me throughout the relationship. It’s strange, most of our interactions felt like our age difference affected them. It’s almost like my knowing his age made him uncomfortable. He started acting childish, to the point where it felt like I was dating one of my younger brothers. He would buy me lunch as his way of showing me he could provide in the way that my exes did. When it came to being intimate, I felt like I was with a child, even though he tried to show his bossy side, I ended up overpowering him because I was older. I would even call him “baby boy”.

People had so much to say about our relationship. While his friends showed me no respect, mine saw me as a whole joke. Eventually, the pressure got too much, so we separated. I know it has to do with maturity levels but I’m not sure I would date a younger guy again. I mean, it’s easy to yell at him during arguments whereas with someone who’s older, there’s also a certain level of respect I would give. As for dating a younger man again, my final answer would be no.