What it’s like being single when all your friends have boyfriends

In honor of Valentine’s Day being yesterday and, being the ultimate single girl in college, I thought I would take a closer look at the true the pros and cons of being #foreveralone.

Take this with caution because it is very frightening, but I am publicly admitting that I haven’t had a true long-term boyfriend for the past 20 years.

Side note: This is true only if we aren’t counting my boyfriend in 7^th grade whom I broke up with because he kissed me at the middle school dance and I wasn’t mentally prepared for that kind of step in our relationship.

Another side note: maybe this is why I’m still single.

Last side note: maybe it’s because I used to look/dress like this But, in the end, as much as we, as single girls, say it’s our decision to be single and that we want to “work on ourselves,” we all know that’s not true when it comes down to getting a free meal at the local Red Lobster (because biscuits, obviously).

But, just how much freedom are those biscuits worth is the question we’re looking at today.

For the past three years at Penn State I have valued my time as a single girl, and have really picked up on a lot of things. This is especially true now, since almost each and every one of my friends are in very serious relationships at this point. While I, stuck in my freshman year forever, have only one serious relationship, and it’s with non-stop ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’ reruns.

So, without further ado, after my many years of experience, these are what I’ve found to be the pros and the cons of being single in college.

CONS:

(We’re going to start off the with cons, because we don’t want to X out of this feeling too depressed.)

Nobody pays for my dinners, if I even get to go out to dinner. This is especially heartbreaking since I only have three dollars in my bank account. 

I don’t get any spontaneous presents besides the cable bill.

Not to beat around the bush, but I’m not getting very lucky.

I have to deal with Tinder boys making themselves look like idiots. 

 

I have to be alone all the time, or with my cats who don’t even love me unless I’m pouring them their Friskies. 

PROS:

(There is still hope)

I don’t have to share my food with anybody, even if that means ordering a whole tray of fries from Local Whiskey for myself (yes it is supposed to feed 4-6 people). 

I get to go to bed whenever I want, and, when I do, I get the whole bed to myself. This is especially important after a rough night out. 

I get to talk to whoever I want, and have a little fun with it along the way. 

I really get to focus my time on my studies. 

I don’t have to do cheesy couple things, like feeding each other.

Lastly, I have so much free time that I can start a new hobby! For instance:

Working out.

Gardening.

Or, contacting old friends.

So, at the end of the day, you can weigh the pros and cons and decide if the single lifestyle is a good fit for you or not. As for me, I spent my Valentine’s day scrolling through endless pictures of guy’s holding up dead fish on Tinder while enjoying a nice candlelit dinner at McDonald’s.

To top it all off, hours after my visit to McDonald’s, I got a phone call congratulating me for winning their Valentine’s Day prize raffle. I really couldn’t ask for more.

My head wandered to a place where I could get free Big Mac’s for a year, or a cardboard cut out of Ronald McDonald, but what I was left with was a $15 gift card to a soap store. 

Dreams do come true.

Special shout out to one of my favorite couples, Eric and Kody, for helping me out with this. Eric and Kody started dating on October 24th, 2015 and have been inseparable ever since. I wish them the best of luck with their relationship, as long as they don’t feed each other in front of me ever again.

@themeganbailey