Traveling home for the holidays always seems to be my opportunity to be thrown to the wolves when the question revolving around my relationship status becomes the center of everyone’s interest. “So do you have a boyfriend yet?” Well hello to you too Aunt Carroll, I’m doing well, thanks for not asking.
To be completely honest, I’m pretty sure members of my family are unsure if I even like men at this point because I give the same answer, every time, every year: “No”.
No, I don’t have a boyfriend, school is going great though, my internship is wrapping up, oh yeah, I’m graduating too, but I guess my relationship status is more interesting.
It’s completely normal to get wrapped up in this picture perfect fairytale idea of what love is supposed to look like, especially around the holidays. Our Instagram timelines fill with pictures of cute couples sharing the holidays together and we get so mesmerized by them that we forget what the holidays are really about. You don’t need a boyfriend to have the perfect holiday, and the more time you spend focusing on what truly matters, the less your relationship status will actually matter.
I use to worry so much about my singleness during the holidays. Being surrounded by others and their SO’s, it always left me feeling like I wasn’t’t doing something right. I’ve been through many, many, many holidays single, and let me tell you, I’m not doing anything wrong and neither are you. Your time will come. Focus less on who will meet you under the mistletoe and more on other important aspects of the holidays, like self reflection and family. Take the time to appreciate yourself and all that you have accomplished over the year, as well as the people in your life who love you. I challenge you to make an effort to be an angel in someone else’s life this holiday season. You are filled with so much love and have so much to be grateful for, it’s time that you use that to your advantage and impact someone else. This should be enough to fill any craving your heart desires, without relying on a specific person to do it. Or you could grab your single girlfriends and sit on a couch crying together over corny Lifetime Christmas movies with some Haagen Dazs ice cream, totally kidding.
If you find yourself in a similar predicament this holiday season, try not to let the bothersome questions revolving around your relationship status get you down. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being single during the holidays. It doesn’t’t mean you’re being set aside, or are any less desirable. Embrace your season of singleness this holidays, the upside is you get to save some money, and that to me is a very merry Christmas.