Unpopular Opinion: 10 Reasons to Date the Bad Boy
Our moms warned us about them, and our dads dread the day we bring one home. But like moths to a flame, we’re still drawn to the charm of the bad boy.
There is something about bad boys that draws women to them. They are like Sudoku puzzles that women try to solve, only the numbers go way higher than 9, and the boxes look like they’re made for crossword puzzles instead. He is broken and you want to fix him… Only to find out he is irreparable, and that’s his lure.
There are a ton of reasons why you should NOT fall for a bad boy. They will break your heart, leave it in pieces. They will break your spirit and sometimes, even a few bones. But no matter what the consequences, bad boys have their charms, and we are bewitched. However, as many reasons there are not to date one, there are also good reasons why you should.
Go ahead and fall for the rebel
It may seem counterintuitive to encourage anyone to fall for a bad boy. However, bear with me as I tell you the reasons why.
#1 Sexy as hell. They come with a scowl, a broken lip or a bleeding brow. They survived motorbike crashes, fist fights, or some other death-defying stunt, and they have battle scars to prove it. They have a dozen tattoos on their body, a couple or so piercings, or some other body modification. They go long-haired, bald, bearded or clean-shaven. Either way, they’re oozing with sex appeal. If only they’ll remember to take a shower every once in a while.
#2 Contradiction. Catch them on a regular day, and they are daredevils, burning the asphalt under their feet. Allow them to sweep you off your feet, and onto their backs, and you’ll feel the wind on your face, like an angel among the clouds.
Bad boys are devils at keeping relationships, too. They don’t answer calls. They don’t reply to texts. They are unreliable and undependable. However, when they do come around, they make us feel like the world revolves around us. They will shower you with gifts, flowers, anything to make you vest your smile on a hellion like him.
They are imperfect, broken, and scarred. They are bull-headed and strong, but inside, they can be vulnerable, too. It’s that dichotomy of elements that make them complicated and ever-interesting.
#3 They are exciting. Astride on their motorbike, you take the country roads and make unnecessary detours. You make love on the sand, on the forest floor, or against a wall in a dark alleyway. They take you bungee jumping, or rappelling, or on police car chases in the highway. They take risks, and when you’re with them, you are fearless.
They make you feel alive, breathing, your heart pumping, and the pit in your stomach ever widening as you take one risk after another. It’s a roller coaster ride when you’re with a bad boy, and that’s what makes them so exciting.
#4 They teach you to take risks. When you are with a bad boy, you learn to take risks. It can be easy to just stay safe in your comfort zone, not wanting to upset the balance. However, once you date a bad boy, you’ll find yourself taking risks you normally don’t take.
Life is worth living if you take a few detours from time to time, to test the waters. The greatest opportunities sometimes come to light only after taking a leap of faith. Take care that you are making calculated risks and not reckless ones, though.
#5 Great for the meantime. If there are meantime girls, there are also meantime boys. Bad boys make the perfect candidate for a meantime boy. They won’t look for commitment, only excitement. You don’t need to keep up communications, because they won’t, and they won’t expect you to.
No need to introduce him to friends, nor to your parents *the horror!*. No need to factor them into your plans for the future. Bad boys are good for the meantime, and in the meantime, they stay.
#6 Muse. Being with a bad boy is like being an adrenaline junkie. You get used to the high that when they suddenly decide to leave, they break your heart into a million pieces. Like an addict on withdrawal, you become miserable. It’s a good thing misery becomes an artist.
Many a poet and writers have turned to their craft when their hearts got broken. Adele made millions on her album “21” in the aftermath of her breakup. Taylor Swift wrote song after song for every bad boy who broke her heart. Experiencing a writer’s block or a lull in your artistry? Date a bad boy, get your heart broken, and voila! You’ve found yourself a most effective muse.
#7 To differentiate the good guys. The best benefit to dating a bad boy? You’ll know when the good guy comes along. Dating a bad boy is like being put through the wringer. Being with them is exciting, but it is also nerve-racking. They make you giddy, but they can also drive you to the pits of despair. With a bad boy, there is no mood spectrum. There is cloud nine and hell, and you cycle between the two when you’re dating him.
#8 Informed advice. Remember when your mother used to warn you about bad boys, and at the back of your mind you think, “You don’t know what it feels like for me!” Well, when it’s your turn to be the mother, then you can tell your daughter, “I do know how it feels. I fell for one!”
It can be difficult for teenage girls to heed advice from a self-righteous mom who doesn’t seem to have made any bad choices when she was young. If your daughter knows you were as human and as vulnerable as she feels at the moment, she’ll be more open to listening to you. Knowing that you’ve been in a similar situation as hers, you’ll have more chance of getting through to her.
#9 Sometimes, the bad boy is the good guy just masquerading. There are boys who are bad boys through and through. But then, there are also bad boys who are really good boys when you peel off the mask. They themselves have been put through the wringer by their own circumstances.
As a way to protect themselves, they put on a mask to hide their true nature. These guys are a jewel to find. They have the hard exterior of the bad boy, but the sensitive and vulnerable interior of a good guy lurks within. It’s the best of both worlds. Too bad, you may have to kiss a lot of bad boys, before you actually find one worth keeping.
#10 There’s a rebel in every boy anyway. It’s a good thing life is not made of absolutes. It is seldom that a person is a bad boy through and through, or an angel to his core. Most of the time, people are just gradations of grey, or in this case, of rebelliousness.
Some guy may show his bad-ass side more overtly than others, while some keep their bad side hidden from the public eye. Maybe you just have to find the person whose level of bad-ness coincides with yours, someone with your shade of grey.
Loving a bad boy, losing them, and having your heart broken in the process may have its perks: you get a muse, and maybe a pattern of behavior to watch out for. But sometimes, you do find a bad boy who can be the best of both worlds—rebel and angel in one.