8 Great Things You Will Experience Being Single

I have a confession to make. I have never been in a serious relationship, and I’m definitely past the age where that’s normal. While all my friends are coupling up and making plans about marriage and babies, I’m still attending parties solo and being set up on horrifying blind dates.

Most of the reason I’m still single is personal preference, and yet, it can often be hard to feel happy about it when everywhere you look, there is someone telling you that you’re incomplete without another person!

The thing is though, as much as there are wonderful things about being in a relationship with someone you love, I believe that there are just as many reasons to be happy about being on your own!

# So much me time

One of the best things about being single is the amount of time you have, to spend doing whatever it is that you love best. I love spending time on my own – whether it’s browsing at a bookstore, writing at a coffee shop, or lazing around watching TV on Saturday mornings. Because I’m single, I don’t have to arrange for this time or wait until my significant other is out of town – every day is full of opportunities to hang out on my own.

# Set your own schedule

When you are single, you also don’t need to worry about running your schedule by anyone else. Get a text mid-afternoon from a friend asking you to go for drinks after work? You can say yes without worrying about interfering with your partner’s plans.

I love having the flexibility to work late, take spontaneous opportunities or change my plans completely halfway through the day without worrying about how it will affect anyone else.

# Stronger friendships

Who hasn’t experienced a friendship that fades out after a significant other joins the picture? Just because I’m not in a romantic relationship doesn’t mean that I can’t have other kinds of strong relationships! I can take the energy and love and time that would go into a romantic relationship and place it into my friendships – having great friends there for you is totally worth it!

# The future is wide open

When you’re in a relationship, every aspect of your future needs to be run by someone else. After all, if you’re working on a couples’ 5-10-year plan, you need to keep each other involved in any big decisions. When I don’t have to think about someone else’s future, mine has a lot more options! There are no geographical, financial, or time limits that aren’t my own to consider.

# Potential is everywhere

There are a lot of wonderful things about being in a long-term relationship, but once you’re committed to someone, it gets a lot less fun to check out all the good looking people around you. When you’re single, every single good looking person is a potential new fling – and that’s a lot of fun!

# No forced friendships

When you’re in a relationship, you need to get along with *or at least pretend to get along with!* all of the friends that your partner has already made. Sometimes, this is a great way to make new friends, but other times, it can be an exhausting and stressful experience!

# Singles parties

I’ve heard that couples’ nights are a lot of fun, and that wine tastings and fancy dinners are an experience I’m missing out on. The thing is, I’ve got the rest of my adult life to experience that – give me a girls’ night out over a large group of couples any day!

# Stay in shape

The ‘happy weight’ you gain when you’re in a relationship isn’t just a myth – I’ve seen it happen! And while I’m far from a fitness nut, I love knowing that by cooking for one and wanting to look nice “just in case” I find myself next to a good-looking stranger, I don’t have to work nearly as hard at maintaining my weight!