Spinster?

If I had a dollar every time I was asked “So when are you ever going to settle down?” or “So what’s your game plan?” or “Wow, you definitely do your own thing, looks like fun.” I would be a rich girl, like really, really rich. These comments never used to bother me, normally going in one ear and out the next but here’s the thing, for the first time really ever I’ve started to feel the “pressure” to settle down and it’s eye opening. Why has it become such a taboo thing for a 25-year-old to want to figure themselves out and experience things before “settling down”?

I’m one of the few people within my social circle that’s not in a serious relationship <GASP>. And I've started to notice that when I see someone for the first time in a while their first question is, "so is there anyone special in your life?" as if being 25 and single makes me a spinster or some sad, lonely soul. For clarification, I am none of those things. 

Sometimes these questions make me wonder if I’m crazy for feeling totally okay with where I'm at. Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea and feeling of being with someone who just gets me. I mean who doesn’t want that in some sort of way. My thing is, I don’t feel the need to rush into relationships just to fill a void.

I’m a firm believer that you have to know who you are, and truly love yourself, before you can love anyone else. I see so many people running into relationships because they feel like they're racing against an imaginary clock or into relationships that feel good in the moment to avoid what’s really going on in their own head. I was that person for a long time. Thankfully things have changed. I am at one of the best places in my life mentally and emotionally but it took a lot of work (and I'm still working towards it). But what that journey has taught me is that there isn't an imaginary clock, that things happen in their own time and that comparing myself to anyone else's timeline is ridiculous-yet no one says this openly. 

So heres where I come in. I'm here, writing this <proverbially shouting this from the rooftop> , to let you know that you're in the exact place in your life that you are supposed to be in. If you're happy and in a relationship- thats awesome, I'm stoked for you. If you're not- don't stress about it, live your life, have some fun and know that you're not alone.