In the spirit of the Season of Love, I have a confession to make: I am single AF. And have been for a while. I am not even dating at the moment. And you know what? I feel good.

There is this preconceived notion that single women are miserable because they cannot find love. So our friends and family always try to set us up because it is just so sad that we are not in a relationship. In a society where a woman’s relationship status determines her worth, I am here to resist. I am here to protest. I am here to clear the air.

I am not miserable. In fact, I could not be happier because the path that I am walking on finally feels right. My family, friends, and dog (I have to include her!) love and support me. If I go out, I do so without checking in with anyone (not sure if I would do this if I had a boyfriend, though). And to top it off, I have figured out who I am and learned to love myself all while single. This is my story, but there are many more single ladies who are in a good place and on different paths. Being single is what is right for us at the moment. So dear friends and family, do not tell us we are too picky or we need to lower our standards. We are choosing singlehood for our own reasons. Please respect the path that we are on.

I am not saying that I am not open to love. I am just not miserable in my singlehood. I am embracing it and you should too, my fellow singletons. We are so much more than our relationship status. We have interests, hobbies, and goals. So the next time someone asks if you are seeing anyone, just tell them about your latest project or what book you are currently reading or the latest musical you have seen. There is so much more to us than the amount of dates we have been on. We have value and it’s imperative that we remember that.