Being Single

So, as it's four days until Valentine's Day, I thought I would write a blog on romance.

Pffft, like I know anything about that.

I've never had a boyfriend, never been kissed, never even gone out on an official date. And I'm 18. Yet, I don't feel this pressing need for a significant other. I'm perfectly happy being single.

I'm not just saying that, I swear. I really don't feel a need for a boyfriend. It's not like I've never liked a guy before, because trust me, I have. But I don't feel that desperate need for a boyfriend that so many other girls seem to have. They sure talk and complain about being single a lot.

I am seriously worried about this generation. I see a very dangerous cycle forming in this culture. We feel like we need a significant other, so we go looking for one, thinking we'll be happy. When the said significant other is found, we pursue a relationship with them and because they're human, they let us down, sometimes in a big way, sometimes not. So the relationship ends because we let each other down. And then we become consumed with the idea that they weren't "the One". And we either find a way to break the cycle or find another person we think is "the One" and get let down again.

Do you see the problem here?

People are human. They will let you down.

Someone told me if you're not happy without a partner, you will never be happy with one. You're just exchanging one set of problems for another.

Now, I'm not saying this because I think I'm an expert or that I'm better than everyone. I do want to get married someday and have romance. I'm super excited for it! It just hasn't happened yet. And that's OK. God will bring the right guy in when the time is right and when we're both ready.

We're hard-wired for relationships, and we can't survive without other people. Romance is a wonderful thing, I just don't like seeing it become so important to people that they forget there is more to life than finding "the One."

I hope you have an awesome Valentine's Day, whether you're single or with someone. Thanks for reading!

The Bane of Human Existence: Part 1

Middle school was an awful time for me, full of gossip girls and obnoxious boys.

See, aside from middle school being awful in general, my school made it 10x worse. For starters, we had uniforms. And though you might think they would be equalizers, they weren't. Not by a long shot. It was like a challenge. The girls who could find the most form fitting uniforms and accessorize the most without going over the limit were among the "popular" girls.

I was not a popular girl. I had lose fitting shirts and only a few pairs of pants that were washed and worn over and over again. And I never really had a burning desire to be part of that crowd.

I didn't act like a "popular" girl either. I was pretty nerdy. So was my group of friends, even though they didn't really want to admit it.

It was an arts school with a student count of about 500 in total, kindergarten through 12th grade. It was a small school and news traveled fast. No one's crush stayed secret for very long. Including mine. Despite my group of friends not being popular, we had plenty of drama. There were gossip girls, weird relationships, betrayals, divas, etc.

I bring this stuff up to tell the girls still stuck in middle school that it does get better. I had friends talk behind my back. There was even a couple of girls who were my "friends" who told the guy I liked that I had a crush on him. Thank God he wasn't in any of my classes at the time! But it was still super embarrassing.

I was helping with my church's youth group recently and, as expected, most of the middle school girls were talking about boys and who they had a crush on. One of the girls' crushes was at youth group and her friend ended up embarrassing her in front of him.

This girl kind of freaked out and got really frustrated with her friend. As I watched and tried to calm her down, I realized that back when I was in middle school, I would have reacted exact the same way.

Back then, it felt like the end of world. Now, I hardly even think about middle school. I only see two people from way back then. Life goes on after middle school. You just have to get through the war zone.

Hope you enjoyed reading about my past. Have a great day, thanks for reading and if you're still stuck in middle school, hang in there! It's survivable!