My twenty years have seen more relationship downs than it has ups. In a time where it may seem like everybody around you has their “person”, it’s hard to find happiness with being by yourself. It's like society tries to tell us that there's something wrong with us if we truly enjoy being single. It wasn’t until my first major college heartbreak that I realized something I should’ve realized a long time ago: I needed to love myself before I could truly let somebody love me as well.

I’ve learned to value my alone time.

I used to feel that being alone was sad and, well, lonely. Now, I find solace in it. Use your alone time to work on your mind and your body. Instead of spending all of your time worrying about somebody else, go to the gym and take care of yourself; go to the library and focus on why you’re truly in school. Getting yourself healthy and organized is just one step in being content with yourself and your life.

I feel comfort in being able to go do me.

Take this time worrying about yourself to go do you. Get closer to your girlfriends, go out and have fun; be wild and make some embarrassing memories that will eventually turn into hysterical stories. I’ve found comfort in the thought that I could pick up and move somewhere at the drop of a hat. Adding a significant other into the picture limits some of your opportunities; take the time to take advantage of those opportunities before letting someone else in.

The best things come when you least expect it.

I’ve learned the hard way that looking for love is going to bring about not-so-happy endings. Don’t take time away from yourself and your main focuses in life to channel all your energy into scoping out your next relationship. Let your life play out and you’ll realize that something good walked into your life when you weren’t even looking for it.

Learn your self-worth and what you truly deserve.

The time I've spent focusing on finding myself has opened my eyes to the things that I truly want in life. It's helped me realize that I didn't deserve to be treated some of the ways I was by previous significant others. Loving yourself helps you learn what you truly deserve from a relationship and how you deserve to be treated. It will help you avoid settling for anything less than that.

While there are so many aspects and pros to learning to love yourself, those are just the main few that I’ve realized are so important to me at the moment. In a day and age where “talking” is actually a thing (I know, I really still don’t understand it either), I’ve realized that I have bigger things going for me than to spend my time right now stressing over a guy’s meaningless intentions.

Taking the time to fall in love with yourself is crucial. When the right person finally does enter my life, I know now that I will be 100% ready to let them completely in.