Do all guys go through the "chase is more fun" stage?

[youngmachetes]

i'll chime in here with my perspective. i'm relatively young at 19, and currently in my first serious relationship. in the past, i definitely enjoyed "the chase," but honestly pursuing girls was more than likely a waste of time (albeit fun and interesting). vastly overweight until i was 17, netting an attractive girlfriend was extremely unrealistic. i weighed approx. 260 (i'm 5'11") in my first two years of high school, yet i had a sort of obnoxious witty confidence, mostly due to relying on my inherent intelligence and maturity throughout my adolescense. dealing with insults from my peers,and also at a physical disadvantage to them (sports etc.), allowed me to shrug off most negativity directed toward me. i constantly flirted with and befriended attractive girls, yet most of the time was unsuccessful in taking it any further than that. in my junior year, i became obsessed with losing weight, and dropped from my max of 260ish down to a meager 168 (i still remember my lowest weight). having only smoked lightly until around that time, i became a full-fledged smoker, replacing meals with cigarettes and starbucks. i still smoke, unfortunately, and i am not particularly healthy. after shedding the excess weight, my confidence was at an all-time high, and i began dating attractive girls. not only was this exciting, but what blew my mind was that these particular girls required no effort to get with. they wanted me. as i was in the middle of a somewhat blossoming relationship, i became enamored with another girl. i chased her around for close to a year, breaking it off with my previous girlfriend because i "liked alyssa too much." eventually everything worked out, i kissed her on a park bench, and was able to get laid in a short amount of time. i was the happiest person in the world. after a while though, things became a little more hectic. i began to see horrible flaws in this supposedly "perfect" girl, and my world was starting to crumble. my confidence dropped, and i began to regain weight due to stress and lack of activity. with a ton of effort, though, we were able to mend things, and my relationship is nearing the 1.5 year mark. i rarely if ever miss "the chase," because the chase is [censored] futile. it's a blast, i'll admit, but once i found an extremely close companion, i felt as if there was no going back. i really can't imagine the single life.

^^
i know that was insanely long, but it felt good to reflect on life, so i went a little overboard, sorry. there may be some useful stuff in there, either way.