At my age, it seems more and more of the people around me are starting to fall in love, and even get married. People I went to school with are pregnant, or on their second child, or already have a date set for when they are to be wed to their special someone. And through most of it, I’ve been single. For some being single is just a small bridge between other relationships, and soon they will be with someone different. But for people like me, being single is more of a way of life.

I have been single since I got to college (more or less). And being a senior now, that’s four years of time to really get to know myself. And there is nothing wrong with being single. At times it can really weigh down on a person, and loneliness can be an issue of course. Yet in a way these are good things, and are things that a person should embrace about being single.

“At the end of the day, humans are social animals and we are at our best when we get to do things with others who appreciate and enjoy what we enjoy. It's what keeps us human,” said the author Simon Sinek. And it’s true. We need interaction with people to be able to function. Even some of the most introverted people need to have some form of interaction with those around them. And that is one of the advantages of being single weirdly enough.

When you are in a relationship, a lot of energy and time is given to a person. Even if no actual time is spent with them, there is the energy and time of having them on your mind. When you are not tied to a person in a “relationship,” there is more energy to spend on other people. Those other people can be friends, family or put towards meeting new people in general. It lets you branch out so that you can be more connected to the people around you.

Outside of building the relationships with others, it’s also important to build a relationship with yourself. It gives you time to really figure out who you are. When in a relationship with someone, it’s similar to osmosis. That is when a material passes from one body to another. You begin to share parts of who you are with the other, even if you don’t mean to or want to. Not losing yourself, but rather inviting someone into who you are, obviously changing the composition of “you.”

When you are single, it allows you to discover yourself. Your emotions can be free from others. It gives you the energy to dive into your own personality and discover the things that make you work. You discover your real interests, and hobbies, emotionally untethered to another person. You have the freedom to be anything that you want to be. Not that being in a relationship stops you from doing that, but many times it is not just you, because you are being emotionally influenced by someone else.

Until you understand yourself, it’s hard to let someone influence you like that. You have to live with you every single day, for the rest of forever, and it’s important to understand and to like that person. Having time to become that person that you will see in the mirror every morning is important. Becoming confident in who you are on your own, can be an incredibly hard process but also the most rewarding.

Don't be sad that you don't wake up to a cute message from someone. And don’t be upset that you don’t have someone to go out on a romantic dinner with. Be happy that you have the time to discover yourself. Rejoice in the fact that the person you see looking back at you in the mirror is not just a reflection of yourself, but exactly who you want to be.