It’s September — just you and your girls. Every day is like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and you’re Bridget. It’s October — just some single ladies on the town. Then cuffing season hits, and the next thing you know, you’re 5th wheeling. You can barely hear the Netflix series (that you’re finishing in record time) over the sound of your biological clock t i c k i n g.
When your friend group starts coupling up, being single feels much worse than it usually does, and there’s added pressure to find someone. Whether you’re super single and have been for a while or are fresh out of a breakup, being the last man standing heightens all of the feelings you were able to ignore when spending time with equally single friends. I’ve come across advice on how to deal with/survive/tolerate being the only single friend, but I needed ways to conquer being single. Here are some things I’ve done to enjoy the single life.
- Stop feeling sorry for yourself
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It’s healthy to admit if you’re unhappy with your relationship status, but it’s another thing to delve into that self-pity. If you really feel unhappy being single, take steps to meet new people. Go to more events in your area that interest you where you’re likely to meet someone that you have things in common with. Sometimes you just have to trust that eventually, you’ll meet someone and that you can’t stay bitter in the meantime. Things come when you least expect them.
- Save your money
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Dating is expensive, and if your bank account is running as low as mine, you’ll feel grateful knowing that you save a decent amount of money every week by not trying out different restaurants and date ideas. If you’re the type to treat your significant other all the time, you’re saving even more money by only having to pay for yourself.
- Hang out with new people
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It’s pretty easy to stay in your comfort zone when you have a group of friends you hang out with whenever you’re free, and not being able to see your friends all the time can push you to hang out with new people. You probably have friends in your clubs or classes that you’ve thought about hanging out with but haven’t yet. Use this time away from your besties to grab a coffee with someone after class, or simply push yourself to diversify your time with different groups of people.
- Be genuinely happy for your friends
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I should’ve listed this first because it’s the most important. It’s hard to get yourself to be happy for your friends, though, without acknowledging the very few — but very real — benefits of single life. If you had just started a new relationship, you’d expect your best friends to be happy for you regardless of whether or not they’re single. Being happy for them will make you feel like a supportive, non-jealous friend and will make being single way more enjoyable than if you were secretly bitter.
- Use this time for *yourself*
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Watching your friends get dressed up to go out with their boyfriends and girlfriends can make you subconsciously let yourself go; you don’t feel the need to look good for anyone else. It’s really important that you start working out, eating like a human being and dressing decently for yourself. It’s like a revenge body, except you’re not working out to prove it to anyone else besides you.
If you start seeing the ways to embrace single life, you’ll be equally as happy as your friends, except with more money, opportunities to move out of your comfort zone and a regained sense of empowerment.