Being single as a millennial is hard. Well, I guess I shouldn’t say hard, since being single is relatively easy today. So let’s just say that being single as a millennial makes me feeling judged or left out.
Being single has made me more conscious of the couples around me. I often find myself staring too intently at the males around me with big eyes, thinking “why can’t you be into me.” Being single has also made me feel like I’m missing out on the fun, carefree romance that will turn more serious as I get older in the dating world. The spontaneous dating days will soon be gone, and days filled with formal dates will soon arrive.
However, I do realize how wrong it is to constantly question myself over than the demeaning dating pool.
After all, the idea of ‘dating’ has become very impersonal and detached.
Instead of relying on in-person conversations and long phone calls, people now rely mostly on online profiles and perfectly posed, filtered Snapchat pictures to decide whether it would be worthwhile to take things to the next level. And even when it’s a “go”, people ask to ‘hang out’ or ‘Netflix and chill’, which is not only noncommittal but also very confusing. I still get frustrated when people ask to ‘hang out’. There are so many ways to interpret the phrase, and I never know what we will actually be doing at this ‘hangout’ session.
Growing up we watch movies after movies that give us false expectations of how dating works — well, that doesn’t help either. Everyone knows now that you probably won’t actually end up with your first boyfriend for life or say ‘I love you’ after just a month of dating. The Last Song, Sixteen Candles, A Cinderella Story, Aquamarine, and The Notebook are some prime examples.
These are just a few reasons I’m starting to actually like the fact that I’m single, though being lonely is probably never anyone’s life long goal. While I don’t foresee it happening, I’m silently hoping that people will start chaning their attitudes about dating. We deserve better, and so let’s be better, people!