It seems like I've been writing a lot about relationships, but the topic has been on my heart awfully heavily recently. It's probably because I'm in this awkward stage of life where I get to do things like plan my friends' weddings and play with my friends' kids, but at the same time, I don't even have a prospect of who I'm going to be with. A lot of my friends have already made lifelong commitments to spend their forevers with their loves, and I'm over here praying like, "God, any day now would be great; whenever You're ready."

I was making casual conversation at a formal with someone who I thought was a friend last year when he started complaining about being single.

"Seeing all of these couples makes me sick; they just remind me that I'm never gonna find anybody," he said.

"You know you will one day, and look at me. I've been single my whole life, and you don't hear me complaining," I told him.

Then he completely surprised me by acting like I'd somehow hurt his feelings.

"Girls like you get on my nerves. I can't just get a girlfriend, but you could literally pick any guy and date them if you wanted to. You're just too scared to settle. You're single by choice."

At first, I was really defensive against this guy for calling me out like that, but then I realized that he was right. I am afraid to settle. I'm totally single by choice. By choosing to be single, I'm choosing not to set myself up for disappointment. I'm choosing to live a life where I won't have to tell my kids one day that I had to weed through several different guys to end up with their dad. I'm choosing to love myself enough to not let my impatience sway me to make a hasty decision. I'm choosing to never experience a romantic heartbreak.

I'm not choosing to be single forever (God and I have talked about that- not happening). I've simply decided that settling isn't for me. If you're single, and you've felt discouraged recently, know this: there are people out there who would date you, but it's just not who you'd like to be with. Instead of wallowing in your singleness, be proud that your standards are keeping you from potential heartache. Embrace the idea that you are choosing singleness because you don't want to settle, and then keep on not settling.