Dating can be rather…well..awful. At least I think so. About 90% of the dates I have gone on ended in me wanting to never leave my house again. I tend to go through phrases where I stop dating all together because I would rather have fun on my own than miserable with someone that is everything that I would never want.

Being in my late 20s, I started thinking about what are the qualities I am looking for in a boyfriend. I think my wants and needs are different from when I was 19. Back then I only cared about how socially acceptable the person was, if he had skills, and his favorite bands.

After a not so awesome date this past weekend, I decided to figure out what should I be looking for when deciding on whether or not someone is going to work in the long run. Because I like being scientific and doing things properly, I’ve decided to use two of my favorite fictional characters Little Pete and Big Pete in the process of figuring out the best man options.  You know it’s science when you need to reference The Adventures of Pete and Pete.

Now, lets start with the trombone artsy narrator ‘Big Pete’. Realistically, Big Pete would probably be ideal for most of the ladies. He was the voice of reason in most situations in the series and just the right amount of nerd that most women can’t help but to love. Not only was he the adorbs nerdy ginger that our young 90s brains thought was awesome, he drove the idea of “She’s a girl, and she’s my friend, but she’s not my girlfriend.” Obviously, this is something that everyone learns at some point in their lives. I mean, most women just want a cute guy that’s going to want to settle down and raise puppies. It’s in our coding for the most part and Big Pete took the step in realizing, “Hey, I actually think I should be with this person because it works!”

And then there was ‘Little Pete’, he was full of bitterness but somehow still had a good amount of charm. He came with his personal super-hero, Artie the Strongest Man in the World. This in my opinion made up for his snarky and sometimes twisted disposition. He was definitely the ‘bad boy’ out of the Petes and always going against authority figures. There is something oddly attractive about a little bit of bad in a man but only a little.

Both of the Petes definitely had a sense of adventure but in different ways. Big Pete enjoyed chasing UFOs while little Pete was known for his irrational decisions which lead to different types of adventures. In all honestly it comes down to if you want to be with a ‘bad boy’ or a ‘sweet boy’. There are 100s of arguments as to why ‘bad guys’ always get the ladies but it all boils down to confidence.

Little Pete definitely had a lot more confidence than Big Pete. Big Pete was always trying to let Ellen know that he was interested but never just went for it. Little Pete would have been all over that situation and would have had zero fear in the outcome. There is a saying “Mr. Right doesn’t necessarily care if he is Mr. Right.” That confidence is what attracts women because everyone loves confidence.

Sweet boys can have confidence too but usually their confidence is witty and less in your face. A sweet guy can turn on the charm when necessary to make you want to faint. Bad boys keep you on your toes and guessing to what will happen next but would you rather melt from thoughtful sweet actions? Typically in my experience, the bad boy won’t notice that necklace you’ve been looking at for months but the sweet ones always take note.

After all of this research for dating science, I honestly think it would be a tough call between the two. Are you one for getting random tattoos and possibly being arrested or would you want to go hunt big foot while eating a snow cone? Both honestly sound amazing to me. What type of Pete do you typically go for?

xo, a go go bye!
Latanya Rene