Being single definitely comes with its perks. You get to sleep horizontally in your bed, you dictate when and if you want to share your bed, and you can eat an entire box of cereal in one day without the requirement of wearing pants while doing it. The best part: no one can judge you, because you’re single af and enjoying every minute of it! Well, mostly. What sucks the most about being single is not the fact that we’re still waiting for the right person to enter the space we’ve yet to fill, but what non-single people assume you’re doing with your life. As much as we enjoy the pants-less Netflix parties, there’s more to our lives than not having a partner or children. Here are some annoying assumptions people make about the single life and the brutally honest truth about them.
- We party a lot. Not all single people are into the party scene. We like socially drinking as much as anyone else and attend events just the same as our coupled and parent friends do. We stay in without issue Friday and Saturday nights routinely because quite frankly a single person income can’t afford the party life you are imagining we live.
- We’re able to do more because we don’t have kids. This one is a touchy subject. We understand parenting is a full time job and we admire your abilities to raise tiny humans into bigger ones; it really is a tough job, but please stop saying that the only reason we’re able to fit things into our lives is because we’re single and childless. We make room for what we want in our lives. We juggle our schedules just as much.
- We have more free time. This is a nice idea in theory, but the truth is when you are single, you actually end up filling your schedule with more things to fill the void of a partner or families of our own. We’re involved in extracurricular activities, take courses, volunteer for things, take care of our houses by ourselves, and sometimes take up second jobs… because living on a single person income is a lot tougher these days.
- There’s something wrong with us. For those of us who’ve been single for an extended period of time, people assume we have some sort of issues preventing us from being part of a couple. Just like you, we all have flaws and the reason we’re single is quite simply, because the right one hasn’t come along yet.
- We’re seriously missing out. Just because we don’t have someone to share the journey of life with yet doesn’t mean we’re missing out on anything. We’re enjoying our lives in plenty of ways. Some people are good at being in relationships and some people are good at being single. Don’t assume we’re lacking because we haven’t found our perfect person yet.
- We have a lot of sex. Some do, and some don’t. Sometimes we date people short term, and sometimes we don’t date at all. Either way, it’s really none of your business.
- Netflix is our official logo and life sponsor. Netflix is everyone’s bae, okay? Ugh. Next…
- We’re all going to end up as cat ladies. Or having one makes us a nuts cat lady. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having a furry best friend, whether it’s a dog or cat and whether you are single or not. Saving and caring for an animal is awesome no matter what your relationship status. Please come up with better stereotypes.
- Our lives are easier overall. Sure, we might not be cleaning up after spouses or kids or spending more on our grocery bills, but since this is all we know, our lives aren’t peachy or as easy as you might think. Just like our coupled and parenting counterparts, we’re all facing the adult responsibilities that comes with being a grown up. We’re paying bills, cleaning house, cooking, furthering our lives and improving upon what we have. The difference is, we’re just doing it without any help.
