7 Ways You Get To Embrace Being Single in Your Early 20s
It’s time to embrace the single life.
Being single oftentimes gets treated like an incurable disease the older you get, one that gets magnified every Valentine’s Day and when you need a date for a wedding. Yet, dating isn’t always all that it’s cracked up to be.
Studies have found that those who stay single for prolonged periods of time are staggeringly happier than those who date far more often. Likewise, studies have also shown that women who never marry or have children are considered to be among the happiest in society.
And yet, despite all of this, so often we’d still rather be in a relationship than to get asked by a relative, “so, are you seeing anyone special lately?”
The pressure to couple up comes on hard in your twenties when those around you start settling down or are in long term relationships. For some of us, the desire to stay single comes on naturally (we prefer to be alone in our own space, free of drama, thank you very much), but for others, companionship is all too important.
Regardless of whether you’re single by choice or not, here are a few of the ways you can enjoy being blissfully single in your day-to-day life:
Optimize This Time
Don’t wait for a significant other to start enjoying your life. Start living your life and don’t wait for other people. The notion of going out to the movies by yourself or taking yourself out to dinner might be treated as sad by those around you, but not if you remind yourself that by eating dinner alone you’re only paying for your half, you don’t have to dress up or even put makeup on, and you don’t have to have any nerves about saying the right thing or going home with them afterwards. When you take yourself out on a dinner date, you can, for once, just focus on the food.
You Get To Save Your Money
You get to save your money and not just every year on February 14th. You get to save money on you and your partner’s would-be anniversary, your partner’s would-be birthday, and your partner’s would-be religious holiday, all of which you would have to spring for a gift on. During the ordinary times of your relationship, you would be expected to spend money on the things that you don’t get paid back for, cute things that you know your partner would like, and small gestures here and there. Herein lies part of the reason that long-term single people are happier: they have more money.
You Have More Time For Your Friends
What are friends for? With your Saturday nights free, you have ample time to hang out with your friends, which can be worth its weight in gold. Without a SO taking away your time, you’ll have more time to spend with your friends, and your female friends in particular. You’ll have more time and energy for them so go away for the weekend if you want. You’ll have the money.
You Have More Time For Yourself
I’m not just talking about putting on a face mask in your oversized sweatshirt as you watch Netflix on your laptop, sitting up in bed (although that sounds awesome too). There’s a freedom to being single. You don’t have to consider another person’s needs when applying to a new job that might force you to move or work long hours. All of the time in your life belongs to you.
Go Out More
You can get out more as part of the single life. You don’t have to wait around for your partner to be in the mood to go out or for your plans to align with their schedule. Without a partner around, you’ll feel guilt-free about going out to a bar or a party or a museum or park. Singles bars and bookstores will soon become your best friend.
You Get To Enjoy Flirting
When you have a partner, receiving interest from a member of the preferred sex can feel like a betrayal, even if you didn’t encourage or instigate it. Whenever someone starts flirting with you and you’re already spoken for, you feel the urge to shut it down as quickly as possible. With no one in your life to claim you, you can enjoy all of the positive attention you want from someone else. You even get to reciprocate it as much as you want. You’re young and flirting doesn’t happen as much when you get older. Get it while the gettin's good. Flirt away.
Don’t Feel The Need To “Age Out Of Being Single”
Being single isn’t something that you need to outgrow. Oftentimes, when we see advice about embracing being a single woman, it comes with an unwritten expiration date, as if to say “being single is cute for now, but cut it out by the time you’re forty.” Stay single for as long as you feel, with the knowledge that it is always better to be single than to settle.
That concludes our list of reasons why you’re probably better off single until you find the right person. Here is your yearly reminder that you don’t need a man (or anyone of any gender, for that matter) to complete you. You’re fabulous the way you are and you’re free to enjoy your early twenties as an independent woman.