For the longest time, I always hoped to have a boyfriend by the time I reached my senior year of college. I always wanted someone to spend the holidays doing cute, couple activities with or simply snuggle up together after a long day. I saw all my friends around me slowly become "cuffed," and before I knew it, I was the only single one left in our group. At first, this used to bother me. I used to think that there was something wrong with me, but now I have come to the realization that everything will work itself out in the end. I would much rather wait for someone who is just right than get into a relationship with someone I am not fully invested in.
Trust me, I know it is really hard this time of year with the holidays coming up to be single. Instantly, the weather gets colder and we find ourselves wanting more than just some pillows and blankets to keep ourselves warm. If you are anything like me, you probably spend your chill nights laying in bed watching romantic comedies, hoping that one day one of these moments will happen to you. We see all these couples in movies, reality shows, books, etc. just happening to run into each other at a local coffee shop or hitting it off after being introduced through a mutual friend and wonder why something this simple cannot happen in our own lives. We hope that one day that cute guy in our class will finally ask us out for dinner or drinks and pray that everything will be as effortless as it is in the media.
However, at the end of the day, we have to keep in mind that this is real life. Our lives are sadly not written by Nicholas Sparks and the guys around campus are no Zac Efron. If we want to see results, we just have to keep trying. We have to download all of those dating apps and keep swiping until we land on mister right. We have to keep going on date after date until we find someone we connect with and hope that our feelings continue to grow stronger from there.
In the meantime though, we should take advantage of putting the "sing" in single, focusing on becoming the best versions of ourselves, and finding comfort in being alone.
I know that this may sound extremely cliché, and to some degree it kind of is, but at the same time, being alone does have its advantages. Sure, having a boyfriend may seem like everything late at night when you're in your feels scrolling through your Instagram feed, but think about all the time and effort it takes to maintain these relationships. Think about all your friends that have gotten into relationships and suddenly do not have time for anyone or anything else. As much as you may want a boyfriend, think about how much you love nights out with the girls and having time for all those other activities you are involved with on campus.
A boyfriend (while totally awesome, don't get me wrong) is a huge commitment and as a senior, I do not know if I actually have the time for one at the moment. I am much more concerned with maintaining a good GPA, finding a job before graduation, and enjoying the last year of easily being able to hang with all my friends. Besides, do you really want to base your future career around a boy anyway?
With all that being said, I am not going to pretend like I would not jump into a relationship if the opportunity presented itself. I would totally make the time if I found someone I was very interested in, but I am also just fine with being single. I found that good things really do happen when you least expect them, as any decent guy I have been with has been found organically when I am not necessarily looking for love. Trust me, eventually, it will just happen and it not happening in college is not the end of the world.
For now, just enjoy the lasts of college and focus on having the best possible future...and anytime you feel like hate-liking those couple pictures, just remember that things probably are not as good in real life.
