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10 Signs You’re Dating a Keeper

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UIC chapter.

In society today we spend most of our time focusing on the bad guys. F*ckboys, douchebags, players, and every other type of bad guy seem to be the norm. It’s easy to forget that not all boys are disloyal, lying scumbags. In order to remind us that there are good guys out there, below is a list of 10 signs that the boy you’re dating is one of the good ones.

1. They go out with you places.

This should be a pretty standard requirement of a significant other. If your significant other, or even someone who you’re just “talking” to doesn’t want to hang out with you in public that’s a bad sign. If your partner isn’t shady and actually goes with you out to eat, to the movies, to parties and social gatherings, then you know he’s not afraid of people seeing you together. That’s a good sign.

2. They even want people to know you’re together.

If your significant other wants you to meet their friends, then you know they’re proud of you and want people to know you’re together. Don’t ever settle for anyone who isn’t proud to call you theirs.

3. They put equal effort into you as you put into them.

A relationship of any kind is a two way street. If you ever feel like you’re putting in a lot more effort than your significant other, you need to address that issue with them. Of course, if you feel like they are trying equally as hard as you, then you’ve probably found someone worth keeping around.

4. They make you a priority.

If you truly care about someone, you can’t help but make them a priority in your life; it’s simply natural. Someone who cares about you will make time for you, not excuses. Don’t ever put up with someone who gives you more excuses than real effort. That’s bogus.

5. They ask you a lot of questions about yourself.

If you’re talking to someone/dating someone and they want to get to know everything about you, they want to get to know who you really are on a deeper level. This means they probably genuinely care about you as a person.

6. They listen to your answers.

It’s not enough for someone to just ask a lot of questions about you, though. They must also actively listen to what you have to say. They have to be engaged and show that they actually do care about getting to know you.

7. You make each other laugh.

I truly hope that you already know this is a basic element of any good relationship. Your significant other should most definitely be able to make you laugh and vice versa. What even is a relationship without fun and laughter, anyway?

8. You’re perfectly content in each other’s presence even if you aren’t doing anything.

When you really enjoy someone as a human being, you feel happy just to be with them. You could be quietly sitting in a blank room and somehow it would be just fine with you. If you feel this way about your partner, they just might be a keeper.

9. You don’t hear bad things about them.

I’m going to take this one even a step farther and say maybe you even hear good things about him/her. No duh it’s a good sign if you hear good things about them! Regardless, in the very least, I hope you don’t hear bad things about them. People talking sh*t about your partner could be because they have reason to, which could mean that maybe you should tread cautiously. This one is a little tricky, however, because there are great people out there who still get sh*t talked about. Make sure you use your better judgement if you do hear bad stuff about your partner and remember to take what people say with a grain of salt if they aren’t a trusted source.

10. Your friends approve.

Speaking of trusted sources, your friends should be the most trusted sources out there. If they approve of your person, that is for sure a sign that they’re a good one. Your friends are able to provide a third party opinion that is crucial since your opinions of your partner are likely clouded by emotions. 

Clare is a sophomore at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is majoring in Marketing and planning on minoring/double majoring in Finance. In her freetime, Clare loves drinking tea, hanging out with her friends and catching up on her favorite TV shows!
Erin is a Communication student at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the President and Editor-in-Chief of UIC's Her Campus chapter. On a daily basis, she can be found making excessive film references and getting overly emotional about superhero TV shows. She has a deep passion for writing, movies, music, good books, and great food, and will gladly talk your ear off about all of the above if prompted to do so.Â