With Valentine’s Day around the corner, most people have romance on the brain. However, I’m not interested in a relationship despite the fact that February is the month of love.
Speaking from my own personal experience as a college freshman, I feel like it’s more important for me to approach my relationships with an open mind. Constantly searching for “the right person” or someone date-able prevents me from getting to know non-romantic people. My goal is to form strong friendships first. After I feel like I’ve found people who respect and like me because of my personality non-romantically, I’ll have a stronger foundation for pursuing a significant other.
I also value the knowledge that my happiness comes from my own accomplishments and individual connections to the people around me rather than through a significant other. While I understand that having a boyfriend or girlfriend for some people brings them happiness, I’m very wary of how intertwined couples become. I recognize that invites to events might turn into “Anna and ____,” even if the group may not want both people there, or even if one partner may not feel like going with the other.
These are little reasons for avoiding a relationship, but it’s mostly a personal thing. I don’t think that I’ve become the person I want to be yet. With starting college and the pandemic, I’m not content with how my life has been going, a there is still so much about myself that I want to improve before I even consider trying to be the support person for someone else, including my mental, physical, and social health. I want to be the best person possible when I do find someone I’m interested in, so self-improvement is a big part of my current life goals.
That being said, that doesn’t mean that I don’t support those who choose to pursue relationships. Some people thrive in that kind of environment. Nevertheless, I plan on spending Valentine’s Day making Valentines for my friends and eating candy! How are you spending yours?