You're home from college and sitting at the dinner table with your family. You suddenly feel everyone's eyes on you, and you know it's coming. That dreaded question: "So, are you dating anyone?"

When I'm asked this question, it's usually followed by statements like "Don't worry, you'll meet someone soon" or "You're too cute to stay single for long."

But why is being single such a bad thing? When did single become a synonym for lonely and sad instead of independent and free? Why is there some unspoken rule that we have to meet our husbands in college?

Our relationship-obsessed culture is teaching people that we need others for validation. In a society that already sets impossible standards for women, the worst is the idea that we need to meet someone and be married by a certain age. We look at single women as if there's something wrong with them. We assume they've made bad decisions or ruined their chance with "Mr. Right."

In actuality, that woman might be completely content with being single, but telling people that their lifestyles or choices are wrong or aren't enough will eventually start to eat away at them, and they'll wonder if they are missing out on "true happiness."

College shouldn't be a four-year timer counting down to meeting "the one." College is a time to be independent, to try new things, and to meet new people. It's a time when you should only have to worry about getting a degree.

Contrary to popular belief, it's not the time where you have to meet your future spouse. If you go into college with this mindset, not only are you going to miss out on new experiences, but you're also going to add a ton of stress into your life, which is something you definitely don't need more of.

We have to stop treating being single like having a disease. We have to stop allowing society to tell us how we're supposed to feel about relationships and being single. We have to change the way we look at relationships as a source of happiness and stop hyper-focusing on how lonely we think we are and recognize all the other things that make us happy. Relationships aren't the answer to all our problems. You can have a fulfilling, happy, and satisfying life all while remaining single.The purpose of life isn't to get married.

Being single is OK, and no one should make you feel otherwise.