When I was younger, I used to say things like “I only want to date guys who are smarter than me,” and people would grimace a bit and murmur something about my self-esteem.
Now that I’m older and have higher self-esteem, I still want to date really smart guys; that part hasn’t gone away. But I do think about it kinda differently; the idea of being an overqualified housewife to a genius mathematician no longer holds much appeal.
Instead, being in a relationship where I’m intellectually respected feels important. But so does dating the smartest guy I possibly can; it’s not the relative values that matter, it’s just the absolute.
Unfortunately, I guess having both of those things requires that I be really smart and impressive. Which already sounds good on its own merits, but it would be nice if all my eggs weren’t quite so in one basket.