With the exception of a brief time in high school, I have been single my entire life. Now, that doesn’t mean I haven’t had my fair share of crushes and people I would potentially date, its that those feelings were not normally reciprocated. Or, in the brief times they were, I didn’t want anything to do with it nor did I want to date for whatever reason…or, in most cases, I was too afraid to make the first move, as was he, and then the moment passed in the breeze and we moved onto other people (or rather he did while I stood there, confused).
Either way, I have been single for a large majority of my life. What I find strange about this is that I tend to be the one people come to for dating advice even though I have literally no experience whatsoever. Maybe its because of my extensive knowledge of ‘book love,’ as I like to call it, or because I have an outsiders perceptive, but I am the person people turn to when they like someone, go on date with someone, break up with someone, etc.
It is just as hard to be single as it is to be in a relationship and, if we’re being totally honest, hearing about others successes and even failures out in the dating world used to make me just a little jealous. They might be crying because their boyfriend had just left for the summer, but at least they had a boyfriend. No matter if someone was in a happy, loving relationship, or was ending it in fireworks and rockets, I was jealous because they at least got experience. They at least got to see what it was like, where I felt like I was just remaining stagnant on this little island while the clouds of relationship floated past.
It wasn’t until fairly recent that I realized something. Being single is a gift. When you think about it in the grand scheme of things, you will date eventually. You will find your ‘soulmate,’ or whomever you are going to spend the rest of your life with, somewhere on your path of life. It will happen, and even if it doesn’t, it is not worth your emotional energy to think about what could be or to play with your heart strings like a fiddle. Your heart is a violin, treat it as such.
So, jump in those puddles, not caring about if your clothes will get mud all over them. Go on an adventure at 11:30pm the night before your morning classes. Stay up late watching Netlfix. Take your time to respond to texts, not because you don’t want to respond or because you’re feeling passive aggressive, but because people shouldn’t be able to hijack your time whenever you want. Live your life. Laugh like no one is watching and do things you’ve never done before just cause.
When it comes down to it, your future spouse might be your better half, but that doesn’t mean you can’t life without them. Be yourself and enjoy being a single pringle, because who knows how long it will last.