We live in a society designed for couples. The minimum number of seats at a restaurant table is two, 2 for 1 deals are everywhere, and there is tremendous pressure to find ‘the one’, or at least find someone to share your time with. Especially at university, there’s a certain ‘hookup’ culture that can make you feel like there’s something wrong if you’re not actively looking for someone.
Personally, this was a challenge I’ve recently grappled with. Trying to maintain a dating life, studying, personal commitments and hobbies all became too much. Hopefully this article will reassure you that there is nothing wrong with being happy and single!
Time
I don’t know about you, but I have this constant feeling that I never have enough time. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything I’d like to! Once I decided to put a dating life on hold, this became much easier. Every evening and night in the week is completely mine to do with as I please. There’s such a sense of freedom that is gained from taking the reigns of your life and being happy as an individual.
Finding Yourself
Unfortunately, dating often involves presenting a different image to the other person in the hopes of creating the best impression. Whilst this is an issue in itself, it can’t be denied that the pressure to not be yourself is certainly less when you’re single. Your life is dictated by you, and you can spend it figuring yourself out – in a way that wouldn’t be possible whilst in a relationship.
What do you look forward to most day-to-day? What do you wish you could do better? What are your plans for the future (it’s also okay not to have a plan at all!)?
Being single allows you to truly get to know yourself.
Alone?
Being single, people often assume you must feel alone more than people in a relationship. This is not at all true. People can feel lonely regardless of their relationship status, and finding ‘the one’ isn’t the ‘cure’ to loneliness that people often assume it to be.
Surrounding yourself with friends and family who care about you, keeping in touch with your mental health, and knowing yourself are all effective ways of not feeling alone.
And speaking of friends…
Friends
I’ve been in a couple of relationships, and one thing that always comes up is the inevitable colliding of each person’s friendship circles! Not everyone is going to get along, and it’s always awkward when your friends clash with your partner’s friends.
This all goes away when you’re single. You have the complete freedom to choose who you spend your free time around.
Being in a relationship can be amazing, but it’s refreshing to truly be happy and single – despite the social pressure to couple up!
Whether in a relationship or not, your life is yours to live!
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