It's the most wonderful time of the year . . . if you're not single.

Don't get me wrong, Christmas time is wonderful! As I have gotten older, however, my eyes have been opened to all the romantic propaganda deeply embedded within the season. There are a plethora of Christmas movies with heart-tugging romantic themes (I mean, Hallmark has built a name for themselves on Christmas romcoms; a brief internet search revealed that there are over thirty Hallmark Christmas movies alone!) Emotion-filled Christmas songs boast of love. The traditional mistletoe beckons couples to come and steal a kiss. To me, it feels like Christmas time has just become a billboard for marketing off the "ideal relationship."

I do not mean to sound like some jaded fusspot that is trying to "Bah, humbug," away the romance attached to the Christmas season. And I am by no means trying to downplay the wonderfulness of having a lover for Christmas time. If you have a S.O. right now, more power to you; I rejoice for you that you have someone special to share this magically romantic season with.

For me, however, it has been a bit of a challenge to be okay with being single during the holidays. Though I have recently been given a few reasons to feel hopeless when it comes to romantic relationships, I want to choose not to be. I still believe in love. I still believe me and my future mate will get together at the right place and at the right time, and I especially look forward to having a S.O. during the holidays. Just this summer someone asked what I wanted for Christmas as part of a game we were playing, and the first words out of my mouth were, "a boyfriend." However, for the time being, I want to not only accept, but also embrace my singleness!

So, over time, I had slowly began to believe that I as a person was not enough. I had, almost subconsciously, accepted that I was not complete just as I was. For years, I have wanted to be in a relationship; I was so desperate to be someone's girlfriend that I dove in headfirst into some relationships before really thinking everything through.

Those relationships have ended, and that is probably for the better, but when I realized that I am single (again) with Christmas just around the corner, I kinda got depressed. I mean, almost everywhere I looked, there were constant reminders of all the romance I did not have. Then I realized that I had the choice to let the depression of not being in a relationship get to me or I could learn to love my singleness, and I think I have made the right choice. I ended up writing a letter to myself to help me accept my singleness that I would like to share:

You are enough. You. Are. Enough! Just you being you is a complete picture. You are not some intricate puzzle with pieces missing. You were created as a complete individual; you are not in need of a person to come along side of you in order to make you whole. And your circumstances cannot dictate how you feel without your permission. It is your choice whether or not the potential sadness of not being in a relationship will get to you. You, yes you, hold the power to unlocking joyfulness in this season of singleness. You have been pining after guys for a while now, so it will take some time to back off from that, but keep making the conscious choice to be okay with your singleness every day and it will get better.

Remember when you read that it only takes eight days to form a new habit? Well, set that goal for yourself! Determine that, in eight day increments, you are going to focus on becoming a better, single you and not on how you are going to get a boyfriend. Take this time building a stronger relationship between you and God; when the time comes, you will get to spend the rest of your life strengthening the relationship between you and your mate, but during this time, it is just you and God. Take this advantage of this time. Treasure it. And never forget you are enough.

You are enough!