Today society makes us believe that we need to be in a relationship to receive the validation that we all so deeply crave, even if we don’t want to admit it.

Everyone wants to be loved and accepted, especially if it’s by someone whom we love in return. Most of us don’t want to acknowledge this, but for whatever the reason is, most relationships come to an end. You either get married, or break up, and most times it’s the latter. Maybe your personalities didn’t mesh or maybe you were perfect together but life got in the way. And when things start to get bad, a break-up usually follows.

Yes, I know the tears and self pity are gut wrenching, but it’s time to realize that relationships are not everything right now.

It happens to literally everyone, and I promise, you are so much stronger than you think.It’s not worth it to spend so much time and energy searching for a relationship this early in life. Think about how many movies and books out there are centered around heartbreak.

It’s a normal, healthy passage of life and once you accept that, it will help you move on and realize all the other things there are in life that benefit us besides a relationship. The first step to receiving validation and love from others comes from within yourself.

Soon enough we won’t be young enough to go out with our friends on the weekend without having to wake up for work the next morning or take the kids to school. This is the youngest and freest we will ever be!

So, is it worth it to spend the best years of our lives constantly putting ourselves through relationship drama just because most people are not mature enough to be in a long-term relationship? Not in my book.

We are so young and have so much more to learn, so don’t stress if you aren’t in a relationship right now. There are so many other things to do instead of being torn up from a failed relationship or feeling sorry for yourself because you're single.

Take a trip to somewhere you’ve always wanted to go. Use this time to learn about yourself and become the person you want to grow up to be. Find out what your talents are and discover what you would enjoy doing for the rest of your life, because now is the time to do that, and we will never get that time back. Now is the time to learn to love yourself. It’s impossible to do all these things if we are constantly being pulled into relationship drama and stress.

One lesson I’ve learned over the years is that you need to be able to completely love yourself before you can give your love to someone else. Once you do this, then you will be ready to find the right person. Enjoy being single right now, because being content alone is so much better than searching and desperately trying to make every relationship work.