It\u2019s pretty common to be single in college.\u00a0 Julia Bourland, author of The Go-Girl Guide: Surviving Your 20s with Savvy, Soul, and Style explains, \u201cthere are fierce desires to find a mate…But dating in the 20s is more complicated than ever.\u201d Your 20s are a time of transition, which can be made easier by going through them yourself. There\u2019s no need to add to the stress you already have in your life by trying to be in a relationship.\u00a0 Another great thing about being unattached is that life is what you make it. \u201cI think the best part about being single in college is that the possibilities are endless. You never know what is going to happen or whom you are going to meet. Although being in relationship can be great, it can also be predictable. When you\u2019re single, you never know what will happen next!\u201d shared Kathleen Bogle, Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at La Salle University and author of Hooking Up: Sex, Dating and Relationships on Campus.\u00a0 Sometimes it can be hard to get past a feeling of loneliness or jealousy at those disgustingly cute couples walking around campus, but let\u2019s further consider why being unattached is fabulous!<\/p>\n

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1. There\u2019s no \u201cchecking-in\u201d<\/strong> — Kathleen Corlett from Syracuse University attests: \u201cI can think of several reasons to love being single! At the top of the list, you never have to worry about \u2018checking in\u2019 or running plans by a significant other.\u201d\u00a0 When you are single, the only person you have to report to is yourself (and occasionally your parents so they know you are alive). And with texting becoming such a dominant form of communication, it\u2019s easy for couples to check up on each other throughout the day, but this gets annoying fast. Why not be able to go on a friend date or use the bathroom without telling your significant other!?<\/p>\n

2. Guilt trips are nonexistent<\/strong>— There is never a need to feel guilty (or even think twice!) when flirting with the cute guy or girl at Starbucks. You can feel free to flirt with guy or girl friends, waiters, people in class, or hall-mates!\u00a0 So there you are, you can work it when you are single and flirt without the guilt trip catching up with you later. Go ahead\u2014embrace your right to flirt!<\/p>\n

3. Strengthening friendships<\/strong> — It sucks to get ditched by your friends who are in relationships.\u00a0 You were good enough for them when they were single but suddenly they have no time for you once they change their Facebook status to \u201cIn a relationship.\u201d Being single, you can focus on strengthening your friendships with your friends. You have all the time in the world to have girls\u2019 or guys’ nights and watch chick flicks or football. Instead of focusing your time on a serious relationship, you can focus on others who are close to you, and let them influence you as a person. This is the perfect time to throw in a quote from Sex and the City: \u201cBeing single used to mean that nobody wanted you. Now it means you\u2019re pretty sexy and you\u2019re taking your time deciding how you want your life to be and who you want to spend it with.\u201d I couldn\u2019t agree more with Carrie Bradshaw!<\/p>\n

4. (This one is more female specific) You don\u2019t have to dress up (for him)<\/strong> — As women we go through a lot to be considered attractive and well-manicured. We are waxed, shaved, tweezed, polished, toned, tanned, our hair and nails are done, and we have to have just the right outfit on. Now let\u2019s think about it, who are we doing all of this for: a guy or ourselves? We are young, beautiful, and single. So put down that blush brush and go run errands with a makeup-free face. Put on your favorite t-shirt or skip shaving your legs one morning and you will exude an air of confidence because you will feel confident within.<\/p>\n

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5. Learn about yourself<\/strong> — Abby Frank from Longwood University says:\u00a0 \u201cI really just enjoy being able to learn how I enjoy things without worrying about someone else\u2019s feelings at the same time. I\u2019m 20 and in my prime to learn how to travel and be on my own. I just feel like being attached to someone else would give me tunnel vision, instead of really being able to make decisions based on what I truly want for myself. And don\u2019t get me wrong, I love getting kisses on the nose, and cute text messages, and hugs, but what I love even more is being able to focus on my own mental health. In the time that I\u2019ve been single I\u2019ve really learned to love myself as a person and be able to comfort myself without wallowing in my own loneliness.\u201d\u00a0 Gale Crandell, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist shared with me, \u201cWe often associate the ego with selfishness but this isn\u2019t always the case. Gaining ego strength is developing who you are as a person. And as you take the time to do that, and postpone relationships, you can find what you need and want, which will lead to successful relationships in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learning to be on your own and love yourself can be tricky. We too easily believe in the classic fairytale of Happy Ever After (in a perfect relationship). Even if you do want to meet someone eventually, being happy on your own is still an important skill!\u00a0 Celebrate being Single on Valentine’s Day this year!!<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s pretty common to be single in college.\u00a0 Julia Bourland, author of The Go-Girl Guide: Surviving Your 20s with Savvy, Soul, and Style explains, \u201cthere are fierce desires to find a mate…But dating in the 20s is more complicated than ever.\u201d Your 20s are a time of transition, which can be made easier by going […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":148,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6,9,7,5],"tags":[38,25,26,31,18,20,30],"class_list":["post-207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-being-positive","category-friendship","category-healthy-relationships","category-single-life","tag-being-positive","tag-college","tag-dating","tag-friends","tag-relationships","tag-single-life-2","tag-valentines-day"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4s1Yj-3l","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/counseling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/counseling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/counseling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/counseling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/148"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/counseling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/counseling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":212,"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/counseling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207\/revisions\/212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/counseling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/counseling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/counseling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}