I am a college student and I am single. But that is okay. Being single is not a bad thing, as I have learned. Trust me though, it took a long time for me to feel this way. I was not always as content with being single as I am now.

When I was younger, in middle school to be specific, I would see these adorable couples all the time who appeared to be happy. They would smile and hold hands down the hall, and here I was, single and alone. I was not happy because I would see these relationships filled with smiles. There would be nights I would go home and cry wondering if I was good enough for a boy. I would not think I was pretty enough and had a lot of different self-esteem issues because I did not have a "middle school" boyfriend. Little did I know at the time, my fellow peers would sometimes go through heartbreak and the relationship would only last a month at most. But to a middle schooler, I did not understand that. All I could comprehend was that they were happy and I was not.

This attitude followed me into high school where I would see people stay in relationships much longer. Some of my friends would be in relationships for months, and they would tell me about the cute little things their significant others would do for them. They seemed very happy, and I wanted this happiness that I thought a boyfriend could provide. Some people always seemed to have a date to a dance while I would go by myself or meet up with a bunch of friends. I wanted some kind of crazy promposal or just a guy to ask me to go to the dance as friend. At that time, I thought a guy could give me happiness. I still did not understand what was wrong with me that guys never really thought of me as more than a friend. But toward the end of high school, I finally started to feel happy with myself. I became more talkative and laughed with my friends. We all went to prom together as a group of girls and had so much fun together. Senior year was a year of fun and I slowly started to reach a level of contentment that I had been searching for. A lot changed even more once I reached college.

Coming into college, I had a new sense of myself. I thought I knew who I was, but I still wanted something. New friends had boyfriends they had been dating for years and were very happy with their significant others. Even though I had started to understand who I was, I still felt that I wanted a boyfriend. College was different however. It was a chance to start over where people did not know who you were in the past. Finally, some guys were paying attention to me and were actually attracted to me. It felt nice for once, but little did I know at the time, I would still not be as happy as I thought I would be. I kept searching for some kind of happiness that I thought a guy could provide when I needed confidence in myself.

Sophomore year of college, I finally found this self-confidence. I had never felt more like myself in my entire life. I was content with who I was and if a guy came my way that I was interested in, I did not feel the need to pursue a relationship. Rather, I wanted to pursue it. I did not feel such an empty feeling that I thought I guy to satisfy. I was confident in myself and realized that I wanted to enjoy being single. I did not want to feel tied down in a relationship, but I had a new sense of myself. So to those of you who wonder why you're still single, it's okay! Being single is not a bad thing. Enjoy it and focus on becoming the best you can be for your future significant other!