Nice guys finish last

"Nice guys finish last."

How often have you heard that pitiful phrase? I've heard it a lot. Always from a self-proclaimed nice guy who is lamenting his singleness and hating the jocks and jerks (often one and the same) who "get all the girls."

Is it true that girls always go for the jerks? Why do they go for those types of guys? What is appealing about a mean, egotistical guy? Not much, according to our "nice guys."

As a girl who has been pretty careful in my dating life, I would like to be able to say that I haven't found the jerks attractive...but I'm not gonna lie; I did. So cool, loud, funny, strong and definitely more interesting than those guys who sit near you in high school and say kind things and do their work and get picked on by the mean guys, or just generally fly under the radar.

But now I'm a little older than 13, and a little more mature than 15, and finally at college with adults. Yes. I am an adult now. And now suddenly I can look back and see that those kids in high school got it all wrong. ALL OF THEM.

The girls were stupid and wasted their time and got less than they deserved.
The nice guys thought they finished last, but it's actually the complete opposite. (Plus, they hadn't finished anything. Their life is still at the very beginning.)
The jerks don't end up better than everyone else. Actually, they seem to end up worse.

The only people who got it right? Our parents.

So since I'm at BYU and getting married is now a thing of immediate concern, or so it is portrayed, I have countless married friends, all around my age or a little older. When I look at the men in this special union...none of them are mean guys. They are the NICE GUYS all grown up. And why are they chosen? Because the girls grew up too.

A girl wants a kind boy, a loving and friendly and funny boy. A girl wants the nice guy. She doesn't want the boy with the big muscles and no brain. She doesn't want a good-looking boy with no social skills and a massive ego. A girl wants to be cherished and loved; she doesn't want to follow around her husband, a groupie to his stupid jokes and limited conversation.

Nope. A girl wants a nice guy. Actually, a woman wants a nice guy. Once you grow up, you figure out what you want. And it's the inside. Sure, the outside is important too, but we want someone with substance.

So to the teenage nice guys who think you're gonna finish last: you're wrong. From my experience, the real winners aren't the lads who had 40 cute girlfriends in high school. They are the men who end up happy with a family and a future.

Keep being the nice guys, because one day when the girls grow up, you'll see who really finishes last.