Being single is usually not as fun as everyone says that it is, at least being single wasn't fun for me, and I made a lot of dumb decisions while I was living out my singledom. I'm sure every girl wishes she could take a few stupid mistakes that she's made back. I sure wish that I could, but I know that I can't, so all I can do is write about them and hope that I will persuade someone else not to do them too.
1. Going out with a guy that everyone tells you to stay away from
If everyone tells you that a guy is bad news, he probably is. Granted, this isn't always the case, but if you have a suspicion of your own that he's no good, you should probably follow your intuition and run in the opposite direction. The bad-boy mystique is cool and all until you realize that you actually can't change them and they end up breaking your heart.
2. Canceling on your friends if you're waiting for a guy to text back
This is a really dumb mistake to make, but so many girls have made it at least once. If a guy says that he wants to "hang out" with you on Saturday night, but time passes and it's 7:30 PM and all you're friends are going out, and he still hasn't made solid plans with you, or even followed up, do not spend your night waiting on a text that you might never even get. Go have fun with your friends.
3. Texting back after midnight
If a guy asks you to come over after midnight, it's better not to go, especially if it's a school night. Odds are nothing good will happen, you'll lose your parking spot, and you'll look a little too desperate.
4. Letting things go too easily
Forgiveness is good. I'm a huge proponent of forgiveness, but if a guy treats you like dirt for two weeks and then suddenly pretends nothing's wrong, you don't need to go crawling back to him. You're worth more than that. If he gives you some excuse that you clearly know is a lie, don't accept it. His phone probably didn't break. If it did, it probably didn't take two weeks to get a new one.
5. Waiting around for a man
This could mean waiting around for a man in general, or also just waiting in the same place for one who walked away and said he'd be right back, but it's been 30 minutes and you don't know where he went. Your time is more precious than that, and you don't need to sit around, looking pretty, waiting for a guy who forgot you were there.
6. Always bringing a date to functions
I was never the girl who had a boyfriend, but you can bet I always had a date to formals, date parties, football games-- you name it. Looking back, I wish I would have just had fun with my friends instead of trying to entertain guys I barely knew.
7. Getting upset with friends who are in relationships
Just because you're single, you don't need to be bitter. I was bitter about being single a few times, and I'm sure that's normal. But I wish I hadn't gotten annoyed when my friends made plans with their boyfriends instead of me on the weekends. Now that I have a boyfriend, I realize how hard it is to manage your friendships and relationship at the same time, so cut them some slack.
8. Being pessimistic
Sometimes I feel like singleness and pessimism tend to go hand-in-hand. While it may seem easy to declare that "love doesn't exist" when you're spending Valentine's Day alone in your room eating Ben & Jerry's, I assure you that love does exist, and you'll experience it for yourself soon enough. Despite what I've said so far in this article, not all boys are jerks, and some of them are really nice. Don't close yourself off from love because you're afraid of getting hurt.
9. Looking for a boyfriend
While I just explained that it's important not to close yourself off, you don't need to constantly be on the search for love either. Most people will tell you that the second you stop looking for a boyfriend, you'll find one. The best loves are the ones that come out of nowhere when you're least expecting it. They're the ones you don't have to look for because you just happen to bump into them, and you're pleasantly surprised when you cross paths.
Being single isn't as bad as you think it is, or as liberating as people tell you it is, but there are definitely a few mistakes that you should just try to avoid making. I hope you can learn from mine. Best of luck to all the single ladies.
