There comes a time in everyones life when you find yourself single. In my case, that's now. For the first time in 15 years.
Now I'm no stranger to being on my own; In fact I love spending time on my own. I've been doing it as much as I possibly can for the last 15 years whilst also having a boyfriend. Turns out, it's not really time spent alone if after every solo shopping trip you come home, cosy up on the sofa and watch Iron Man 3 for the 5th time with your partner. Don't get me wrong it's always good to have space in a relationship but there is a huge difference between enjoying your own space whilst having a significant other and enjoying your own space whilst being single.
I never really considered what it actually meant to be truly single. I always saw it as a stop gap; a period of time between relationships where we look for the next person. In the past I've used the time to frantically look for my next partner, not really thinking about what I wanted or if I even really needed someone in my life at the time. I'm in no way down playing the relationships I've had but I'd be lying if I said on reflection, they were always the right relationships at the right time.
I've been doing a bit of soul searching over the last few weeks and I've come to realise that the time we get to be single is something that should be cherished. Relationships can be hard work, and there's nothing wrong with enjoying a break from them. In fact I think the time we have being single is actually the time we have to get good at being alone. And in order to get to know yourself properly, I think these alone times in our lives are so important. I plan on using this single time in my life to get to know myself and what I really want out of life, as well as a partner. I can't wait to meet my Mr. Right and settle down, but until I do, I'm going to embrace single life and everything it has to offer.