I’m 16 and just started dating. She’s 15 and my first girlfriend. She’s had lots of boyfriends before me, but I’ve never had any girl so much as give me a second look. I get jealous when I hear stories of her past boyfriends, not because I think she’ll do anything with them, but just because I feel utterly clueless about relationships compared to her. There are times she acts like there are things I should know about dating and relationships that should be common knowledge, but when I have no dating experience, it’s hard for me to just pull this knowledge out of thin air. I try my best, but I feel stupid and clueless and inferior because of how little I know. I’m starting to think maybe I should start seeing other people, so or maybe break up with her and date a bunch of other people before trying to be with her. Maybe she’d prefer that over me being so clueless and incompetent due to my dating inexperience.
I was where you are now: 16 and clueless. It takes time to understand the social norms. 15-year old girls are also clueless. They don’t know what they want and turn their attention to any guy that flirts and spends $ on them. If you have a mentor you can trust, talk to him for advice. Be careful though. Some guys will pretend to be your friend while they’re stabbing you in the back. If I could go back in time and face my 16-year old self I would break it off and move on. Take this time to focus on yourself to learn a trade and skills that’ll help you pay the rent and buy toys. Find yourself a girl your age with a healthy family dynamic that shares the same goals you do. Stay away from women with kids. I’ve been there / done that in my early 20’s with a 30-year old woman with 2 kids from 2 baby-daddys. It ended after 5 years. I found that she had a $ million life insurance on me and was waiting for someday I’d crash my motorbike so she could collect. I dodged a major bullet. We had no kids together. I got away from her free of financial obligations and the experience that I would not repeat it. Stay safe and be smart. Until you get married and have a family, look out for number one. No one else will.