Proof That Being Single Changes You For The Better

If you’ve been single for a long time, you’re used to focusing on you. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; it means you can always watch exactly what you want on Netflix and never have to consult someone else before you make plans. But it also means that you’re less likely to make compromises, because you’re not used to having to. Being single long term can be a drag, but it can also change you in a lot of ways, many of which are for the better.

1. You don’t like to ask for permission. While your friends have to consult with their significant others before they make plans, your calendar belongs exclusively to you. You never have to make sure that your S.O. will be cared for that night or check and see if they want to hang out with you and your girlfriends.
2. Compromising isn’t something that you’re used to doing. At the end of a long day, you head home, make whatever you want for dinner, then settle into the television show of your choosing. There’s no need to make sure that someone else wants to watch or wait until your boyfriend comes home to turn on your latest marathon.
3. Your time is yours alone. Feel like staying in bed all day and binge watching something on your laptop because you’re seriously hungover? There’s no one around to judge you. Sure, you might have roommates, but they’re far more focused on themselves than checking in on what you’re doing.
4. It seems like options are endless. There are so many dudes to date and so many absolutely ridiculous messages you could get on OKCupid. Why settle down when there’s always another option? Maybe you won’t actually have the meet-cute of your dreams, but part of staying single is believing that could happen one day.
5. You can’t imagine changing your lifestyle. When you think about inserting a gentleman caller into your everyday life, it sounds horrible. How will you spend entire days ordering Seamless and basically not moving? It’s way more awkward when someone’s there watching you.
6. You never feel like faking it. When you talk to your friends in relationships, they often admit (after a couple of drinks) that they’re forced to fake it because they don’t feel like disappointing their boyfriend. You don’t feel the pressure to pretend and refuse to do it ever again.
7. You don’t care whether or not you’re in a relationship. There are some points where you seriously stress about why you’re not seeing anyone. It might be when someone questions you on your single status or when you’re home for the holidays and suddenly everyone wants to know why you’re not in a relationship. The rest of the time, you’re having too much fun seeing all of the ridiculous pictures on Tinder to worry endlessly about settling down. Now, you no longer worry about whether or not you’re disappointing someone by being single because it doesn’t affect them.
8.  When you go on a bad date, you’re able to forget about it immediately. If you’ve been single for a long time, you know that bad dates are pretty much a constant. Sure, there are seriously incredible ones, or ones that you’re not sure about, but you’ve started writing dudes off after a single date. You value your time too much to waste it on someone who you’re never going to click with.