Being single. It is something people tend to have a love/hate relationship with. It is something I myself have often had a love/hate relationship with. However, I recently decided to develop a new look on being single. To not see it as the enemy or as the opportunity to do whatever reckless thing I want, but to see it as the chance to find myself, to work on me.

You see, being single shouldn't have to be associated with these things that society has accustomed it to. Being single doesn't mean you're lonely. It also doesn't mean you are incapable of landing a relationship. And it doesn't mean you're single for the prime fact of hooking up with whoever you want whenever you want.

Being single, for those of us who have fully emobdied what single actually means, means rather living life for you. It is taking the time to find yourself before you enter into a relationship with someone else. It means embracing the fact that you are independent. It means going on spontaneous adventures, taking up the hobbies you always wanted to, and spending as much time as you can with your best friends.

While this is not in any way to sell relationships short, as being in love and having a significant other is an incredible feeling, it is rather to say that this isn't necessary however to be happy. I have realized that we are young, that there shouldn't be a rush on getting into a relationship and that we shouldn't go out searching for one. That we should enjoy our time being single, enjoy our time living for us, and then before we know it, it won't be just us.

Coming from an optimist and a hopeless romantic such as myself, I believe there is someone out there for everyone. I believe that we will all find that person that we are meant to be with and I believe that God will lead us to them. If we spend our time however desperatley trying to find them, then that is time we spent out of our lives not living.

Frankly, we all deserve to be selfish at least a little be in our lives. We all deserve to chase down our dreams, to do the things we really want to do in life. So why not take this time while we are on our own and do them? If you think about, five to ten years from now we will have careers, we could be married, we could have families, and we will have a lot more responsibilities than we certainly do now. And while I know those moments will be the highlights of our lives, I'd like to look back on the years I was young and spontaneous, and also consider those to be highlights of my life as well.

I'd like to look back on my life and know I have no regrets. To know I did everything in my power to do what I wanted in life. So I plan to make a bucket list, to cross things off, to cherish the time I have to live for me. I plan to not worry about who I will be with later in life or when that person will come along. I know it will happen, that relationship will eventually come when it's the right time. Instead, I plan to consider myself lucky for this time I have of being single. As should everyone else in my position.

Because being single, is living. It is not a status, no matter how much Facebook has tried to ingrain this into our brains. It is rather a word, one that describes someone who is strong enough to live their life and enjoy it without being dependent on others.