"It sounds like a cliche but I also learnt that you’re not going to fall for the right person until you really love yourself and feel good about how you are." - Emma Watson

This is a phrase that I've carried with me for a while, but recently saw it from Ms. Watson on either Pinterest or Tumblr (I'm such a sucker for inspirational quotes buried in the catacombs of social media...I go looking when I'm feeling down). It's an important phrase and a relevant message. It's one that I know a lot of people struggle with. There's no way you can fully fall in love with someone else until you fully fall in love with, and are comfortable with, yourself. I've watched friends and acquaintances alike jump from relationship to relationship, changing and morphing into who they think they should be, without ever truly being happy and just being themselves. I think that's why I've been single most of my 28 years on this earth. It's also why my sister is married...she learned to love herself early on and was lucky to find a man who loved her just as much at such a young age.

I can't say that I am completely at ease with myself but I'm nearly there. I also know when I need to focus on myself and what level of crap I can handle. A few years ago, I left a sales job because my anxiety over it had gotten to the point where I was dreading going to work every day and the minutes would crawl by. It all came to a head when I had a mini panic attack a few days before a big important sale was to happen. I went on stress leave the next day and never looked back. I moved on to a much less stressful job, but the effects were still being felt about a year later. I will periodically get asked why I don’t put myself out there more in the dating universe, and my response is always, "I have enough on my plate with just me...there's no way I can handle someone else and all of their emotional and physical needs." I’ve learned that it’s okay to feel this way. Normal even. Like I said, I’ve had a few stumbles over the last few years that have really made me look at myself and what I am doing. I’m a work in progress and that’s ok, even at age 28. It’s ok to struggle a bit with yourself and everyone goes at a different pace. I think I'm ready for whatever comes now. I get through my days with the support of family and friends of course, but I’m doing it for myself and no one else.