Contentment in Singlehood

by Heather Tomasello, Staff Writer

Always the Bridesmaid...

"I want to have someone to hold me, someone who really knows me and loves me." My friend Alice lamented. "At this point I'd settle for dinner or a round of putt-putt." She sighed. As a young twenty-something, her social calendar lately was filled, not with dates, but with bridal showers and weddings. Love was in the air, but not for Alice.

"What is Wrong With Me?"

It is natural for single men and women to ask this question, even if they've chosen to be single. My friend Alice was a beautiful, vivacious girl with a keen wit and sense of humor. I'd always known her to be confident, yet even the healthiest self-assurance may be undermined when confronted by a "date drought." And if you've always depended upon relationships for your esteem, singleness can be a real struggle. Many people go from relationship to relationship, so they are always part of a pair, like a set of bookends. "Jimmy and..." or "Rachel and..." Their names are always mentioned in conjunction with another name and generally it is a new name every month. Are you afraid to be alone? Do you know who you are, apart from anyone else? How much confidence do you derive from relationships with members of the opposite sex? Rather than lonely and horrible experiences, periods of singleness can be sweet times of self-discovery.