I'm 19, I've never been in a relationship and I've gotten a lot of ridicule for being single my whole life. The thing is, I'm completely OK with my relationship status. I've learned to be by myself and to be happy that way. I've seen my friends fall in and out of love and be completely shattered by it. To be perfectly honest, that isn't something I'm completely willing to risk for myself just yet.

Don't get me wrong, I've liked people, but most of the time I distance myself so that nothing does come out of it. Truth be told, a part of me is scared of relationships. I've seen so many people I care about be changed by the relationships they choose to get into, and I've seen a breakup leave nothing but a shell of a person behind. That's not something I want to risk putting myself through unless I feel like it would be worth it.

Being alone isn't as bad as it seems to a lot of people. You learn to be happy by yourself, and you learn to love yourself. I've seen a lot of relationships become unhealthy because of one person or another's inability to love themselves. I've learned to accept myself for all of my flaws and all of my downfalls rather than in spite of them.

I've also learned to recognize when someone's intentions are good and when they're not. I don't want to be taken advantage of, and I won't let myself be taken advantage of. I personally don't see the point in dating someone unless you see a future with them, and I see so many people lately dating just to date. I see people dating just to have someone for a while and then move on to the next person.

I used to wish I was in a relationship all the time because I got really tired of being a third wheel with all of my friends. If I'm honest, I still do feel that way sometimes, but it doesn't happen as often as it used to.

I've come to the realization that maybe it's just not my time to be in a relationship. One day, someone will come along that makes all the struggles that come along with being in a relationship worth it. For now, though, I'm happy being by myself.

For the time being, I'm going to go to go have fun with my friends, focus on my school and focus on myself. One day I won't be alone, but for now it's just me, myself and I, and I am perfectly okay with that.