Most every girl knows what it's like to want a boyfriend, but not every girl knows what it's like to never have had one. At eighteen years old, I am one of those girls.
Telling people that I've never had a boyfriend always brings different responses. People feel bad for me, think I'm weird, lonely... whatever it is, it's usually a negative response. And in the end, they sometimes try to get me together with someone they know.
It's not that I have never been presented with the opportunity to pursue a relationship with someone; it's just that I've never felt the need to be involved with someone in that way. Being single is nice, and I've always enjoyed it. Especially because I am still so young, I feel no rush to be in a serious, long-term relationship. To me, relationships are slightly overrated. Every friend or family member I know that is in a relationship is always in constant turmoil, mad at each other, making up, then getting mad at each other again. One or the other is always a little too clingy, and just viewing those relationships makes me realize how glad I am that I don't have to deal with that.
However, everyone around me doesn't seem to think so. Ever since I entered high school, it was as if finding a boyfriend was all anyone cared about. I'm always told by family members, "You still don't have a boyfriend?" and by new friends, "Wow, you've really never had a boyfriend?" and it's getting tiring to hear. Being in a relationship is not the be all, end all. It doesn't define me and my experiences in life.
In fact, it's the least of my worries at this point in time.
However, as each day passes, I learn that people will never seem to get that. The idea of having and needing a relationship to be happy is such an ingrained "goal" in our society, that people who are too busy to look for one, or don't care for them at all, are considered weird and lonely.
I don't let other people bother me anymore. I'm happy with myself, and I don't need a boy or anyone else to complete me, no matter whether I'm in a relationship or not. I may not be looking for a relationship at the moment, but if it happens, then it happens. Until then, I'm fine with whom and where I am in my life, and I am more than happy with being by myself.
