Your friends somewhat speak the truth. The love relationship itself is where the revelation truly begins. You should know more about them before getting married, not getting together. Two completely different matters. If you know everything about a girl and you want to date her, then you might as well skip the dating and go straight to marriage. Am I right?
Sorry, Heartz, but I completely disagree. Not everyone dates for the same purpose that I do, so I'll outline that first. If I'm in a dating relationship, I'm in it with the intention of seeing whether or not I would like to marry this person. It's a step toward marriage, which may or may not work. For that reason, I don't engage in a dating relationship unless I feel strongly enough that I think that marriage is a realistic possibility.
Now here's where a lot of people are going to say "Well how do you know if marriage is a possibility if you never date them?" That's where getting to know the person comes into play. People seem to forget that long lasting romantic couples are, in reality, best friends. That's the foundation they have. If you date someone that wouldn't be a good friend of yours, you're typically not going to get along with this person very well, and your relationship will probably kick the bucket in about three months, tops. And those relationships also tend to be at least 70% physical anyway, which is never a good idea.
Now, let me ask you: Why do you like this girl? If you don't really know the girl, I'm not sure you've got a legitimate reason. Is it that you find her attractive? Honestly, if that's the case, go to one of California's beaches during the summer and see if you don't find plenty of girls much more attractive. Is it just some gut feeling you get? Try again, because those feelings will increase quickly and die soon unless you've got a real foundation for your relationship. I'm not trying to be a real killjoy here, but I see a lot of people go into relationships with no real reason and end up more lonely and dissatisfied than they were before. Take it from a guy who's dated more girls than he cares to count. That's not me bragging, I'm honestly ashamed (this was before I became a Christian). Since I became a Christian I haven't actually dated a girl. There have been a few girls who shared feelings, but nothing really came to fruition. And I'm glad, honestly, because it kept both of us from heartbreak and frustration we didn't need.
Honestly, where I'm at now, I can't like a girl that I don't know. It just doesn't make sense to me. I need to know a lot more about a girl than her looks or butterflies. Want to know about the girl I like now? From the day I met her, her sincere kindness, pure-heartedness, and devotion to God was evident. Not only this, but she made sure to keep her heart guarded and wasn't just a flirt. I took note of that. As I got to know her better, I realized that we were similar and different in all of the right places. We were similar enough for people to notice, but our weaknesses also matched each other's strengths. Beyond this? We're amazing friends and have great chemistry. Further than that? She's the most absolutely gorgeous girl I've seen in my life, and any trip to California's beaches won't change my mind.
You see, there's a real difference in the way a man pursues a woman. He can do it one of two ways. He can take the role of the real man that a woman is looking for: The one who wants to save the damsel, to really win her over. Or, you could be the boy who elopes with a woman far too soon. And, honestly, consider these options. Think about the stories you've read and the movies you've seen. I'm sure you know enough about the 'Rescuer'. His character is clear. He works hard to achieve the woman he's determined to have, and demonstrates a real, active, powerful love for her. How about the 'Eloper'? Quite the opposite. He's capricious, doesn't know how to control his emotions, and bases the entire elopement on a 'gut feeling'. Consider which of these seems like the nobler path, and which one really makes for a real, long-lasting relationship.
And maybe you're about to say "I'm not necessarily looking for a long-lasting relationship." Fair enough. But she might be. And she might be expecting that from you. She might be wanting a real man to step up and be there for her. And what if you're not up to the task? Then you're just going to break her heart. Are you going to be all right with that when that happens? Because that does happen. Whoever does the breaking up, the woman still feels that way, like she was let down. Do you want to be the coward who backs out at the last minute, merely because he "wasn't looking for a long-term relationship anyway"? That's a weak excuse, if you ask me.
I know this is all 'really intense' or whatever. And sure, it might be. But honestly, I've been in over 20 romantic relationships that have all ended in some sort of heartbreak. And let me tell you, it does damage people and it leads them to really bad places in their lives. That's why I take this so seriously.
So, what I leave you with is this: If you're serious about this girl, get to know her. If you're not, don't break her heart by getting her hopes up. I would agree that becoming her "best friend" immediately, isn't a good idea, however. While I became good and even close friends with the girl I like, I kept enough distance between us so that the nature of our relationship was still 'undefined'. That's the path you've got to take if you're serious about her. And, I hate to say it, but if you're not serious about her, then I'm not sure you're emotionally mature enough to understand just what dating entails. I know that sounded a little harsh, and I'm sorry if it came across that way, but understand I didn't mean that as an attack, but just as a reality check.
I know I'm about to get like 5-10 people criticizing my views on relationships, and feel free to do so. But before you do, consider this: The majority of what I've founded my views on dating on is Biblical and have derived from my church. Within my church, probably 90% of the couples who start dating end up married and stay married--happily, too. That's a far cry from the 50+% divorce rates that are going on in the rest of the world. So, before you critique me and say I'm just being a pain, take good look at those numbers.
EDIT: Wow, I really do see what people mean when they say I write HUGE posts all the time. Maybe I should just stop talking for like a year.