Dating : Feeling anxious. Kinda need to vent. Maybe start a discussion.

Dating : Feeling anxious. Kinda need to vent. Maybe start a discussion.

24 M, I have not had much time to date since 2017 because I decided to focus on my education with my graduate program being very intense and even then I didn’t date much before because I wanted to enjoy the hobbies that I had with my friends. I still have another year until I am finished and it has been nice to not have to worry about the stress that comes with dating and relationships during this time but I am a little afraid of trying to start the dating process again. It kind of feels like a cocktail of problems. When I was dating and had relationships, there was never any real pressure because the thought of marriage, family, goals, finances, wants, etc. were never on the table because we were always so young and broke. But, now I am realizing more and more that those could be huge deal breaking factors that are probably going to come into play. I have heard that dating gets worse as you get closer to 30 with demands and standards getting higher and people who have kids from previous partners that I know I wouldn’t be comfortable with. I also cant help but feel that there are a lot of horror stories floating around out there about infidelity and people being abusive to others which makes me a little wary about getting back out there. Then there is always that problem where a woman that I would like to be with is already in a relationship or is otherwise unavailable.

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Is there anyone else in a situation similar to this? Any success stories to keep the flame of hope from dying out? Are a lot of the horror stories just from overly dramatic people I know and media?