Being single has gone from being a relationship status to a subculture. If popular opinion truthfully reflects how being single is viewed, it is not a culture considered that anybody wants to be a part of. Although there are no legitimate reasons to see a person’s lack of a romantic tie as being a bad thing, it is. One possible reason for the bad reputation that being unattached gets is that many people equate it with loneliness.
The approach and attitudes that people let guide them on the path to romantic fulfillment vary with each generation. The one common denominator in every age group seems to be the belief that evidence of a successful romantic life is having a romantic partner to call your own.
No matter how successful a person is in every other aspect of their lives, if they are single, they are perceived as missing something. It’s automatically assumed that if somebody is single, they are looking to change that as soon as possible. And while they wait for the opportunity to change their sad single status, they are lonely and miserable.
For a lot of people, this could not be further from the truth. There is no doubt about the many positive things that a close intimate relationship can bring into our lives, but romance is not the only way to get those things. Realizing that life is as fulfilling and exciting with or without romance is liberating. If we accept the false idea that we have to wait until we are romantically involved, to be as happy as we can be, we have no one to blame for the limits we put upon our happiness but ourselves.
People involved in unhealthy relationships, or who are just simply unhappy in their relationship, are living testimonies to how unhappiness is found within a relationship just as often as happiness is. Whether a person is single or not, has little to do with their interest in the opposite sex, or their ability and willingness to become involved in a romantic relationship.
It is possible to be completely happy and satisfied as a single person, especially if you are trying to establish your career or finish your education. Relationships come with drama and require time and attention. The work that goes into building and maintaining a healthy strong relationship pays off in spades, but timing is an important element that can enhance your efforts or thwart them all together.
Very few people choose to remain single for their entire lives. Some people prefer to have several meaningful long term relationships that come to end when the couple outgrows each other. Other people experience one or two intense relationships during their life that come to an end, for any number of reasons, and decide that they will not pursue getting as serious with anybody else, but still casually date for companionship. There are also those individuals who experience their passion in life outside of the romantic arena, and dedicate themselves to whatever their passion may be; this fills them up and satisfies them just as a good marriage would do for others. In other words, the status of single, does not always mean: single and looking.