I thought I could give my two-cents here, since my relationship is non-standard. Despite what I've said on these forums, I actually am a very attractive lady. I'm sorry for bragging, I personally don't put much thought in looks since I find them to have very little value (I know this isn't true for most). Some have called me "scary pretty." I've heard it a hundred times, and I know for a fact that most people aren't only looking for someone attractive. I've been told that because I'm "beautiful," I could date whoever I wanted. Not true at all. Famous people only date famous people. People tend to date within their field. It does have to do a lot with chemistry and being in a similar place in life. So I definitely don't date whoever I want. There are a lot of guys who flat out aren't interested in being around me. I should note I'm also very introverted, and don't have many friends.

I've had a good deal of guys approach me, and how their approach was and how they interacted with me helped shaped my picture of them, but it had a lot to do with how I perceived them. Some guys who were older and liked looking over my body a lot made me feel creeped out. Guys who were friendly and calm and asked me about myself made me shy, but not uncomfortable. I usually only felt creeped out by age if they're noticeably much older than me. I've had guys come up out of nowhere and start talking to me, and somehow I knew very quickly that they were interested in me and trying to get to know me. For me personally, this doesn't work with me, but it doesn't mean I'm not flattered. I still try to have a good conversation, unless I'm getting bad vibes. For example, if I'm not too interested in talking, I get bad vibes when a guy I don't know keeps pushing for conversation in a forceful way. Usually I'll be more quiet and not reply a lot to show I'm not in the mood for talking, usually because I'm busy. It's rarely because a guy just flat out gives me bad vibes from the start. I'm sure just walking up to a girl who you don't know does for some girls, since once you get to know each other, she might hand you her number, for example, in order to discuss what you two were talking about before, or to join up with you for doing a hobby you two have a shared interest in or something. Especially if she's interested in you. I'm the type who usually would like a conversation with a guy once I know him a little bit, for example, maybe I see him around once and a while. If I liked a guy and he came up and approached me to talk, I'd be very happy, but how the conversation would pan out is based on how our chemistry was, you know? If we both had nothing to say, maybe it just wouldn't work out, or maybe we'd have to try again later.

I met my boyfriend in one of my classes. I think he's attractive, but he isn't a model by any means, you know? I find him so attractive because I like his personality. He was also very shy and nervous, and I found myself having to keep the conversation going, and thankfully we had a lot in common and good chemistry. Funny enough, he said he liked me because I seemed to know who I was and where I was going. Most guys just say it's because of how attractive I am, but hey, that's not necessarily bad, either. I think I just liked a guy who liked me as a person, but that might be just me and because I wanted something different than what was usually offered. We ended up changing opinions of what we knew of each other later, but not in a bad way. We just learned more about each other, and we still liked each other.

I actually approached him first! I asked to talk to him about an interest we both had, basically, and he was always receptive. I tried pushing boundaries a bit, asking about his other interests, and he'd ask me about myself, too. Eventually he asked me out, but I was already planning to ask him out.

So, maybe because of this, I don't think being in the same perceived "bracket" of dating actually always applies. I've met a lot of guys with incredible girls who are both beautiful, intelligent, and kind, even if the guys seemed pretty normal.

I work with a lot of girls. A whole lot. I can give some pointers of what some of them like. Of course, everyone has different personalities. There's one girl who's very attractive and does a lot of dating. She'll date around, and she wouldn't say no to a guy who seems physically attractive (her choice) and compatible, but she's mainly focused on this one guy she's had a crush on for a long time. She gives him signs all the time that she likes him, so he's bound to know now. However, she's gregarious, so it's easy for her to let a guy know she likes him.

I know one girl who's dating a very attractive guy, although she doesn't fit into the "very attractive bracket." She's just normal looking. However, she dated him because they knew each other, and she and him had a lot in common.

One girl is pretty and dating an introvert. She's very talkative and has had a lot of dating experience. She seems to like his seriousness, but maybe that's what she likes at this time of her life.

A lot of the girls met someone they already knew for a while, and dating just worked out really well for them.

I think a whole lot literally depends on who you know. What girls you hang around a lot and etc.

Anyway, just my two cents. Please take with a grain of salt. I have barely any dating experience myself, but I'm like Melodysmooth who posted way back in this thread. I waited a whole lot of time, until my early twenties, to date.