This Is For The Women Who Are Still Single In Their Late 20s
To be in your late 20s and be single has turned into quite the phenomenon.
Sometimes I feel as though I’m a rare, endangered species, one step away from being put in the fucking zoo. I can picture the name of my exhibit perfectly: “27 year old SINGLE female.” And then there’s me, standing behind a glass wall, staring blankly at people.
Children will approach me, tapping on the glass. “Mommy, what is that?!” they’ll ask. The mom will look at me in horror. “My God, I have no idea!”
You’re better off going to the penguin exhibit.
The best part about being 27 and single is all the questions that come with it.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Are you dating anyone?”
“Have you tried Hinge yet?”
“Can I hook you up with my friend?”
And my personal favorite: “How are you still single?”
The answer is actually very simple: I will remain single until I meet someone who is up to my standards. I don’t plan on settling, so if I have to stay single until I’m 40, so be it. I have no problem being the fun aunt until then.
Society puts so much pressure on women to be a certain way. We have to be a girlfriend, a fiancè, a wife, and then a mother, all within a specific timeline. Well, I’m saying fuck those timelines.
I’m on my own timeline. What that looks like for me right now is being single, focusing on my career, and pouring a ridiculous amount of self-love into myself. I’m not where I thought I was going to be at 27, and I’m happy about it solely for the fact that if I married who I thought I was going to, I would have been paying a lot in divorce fees right now. There’s always a silver lining.
I’ve been single for five years. Throughout those five years, I’ve dated guys who have love-bombed me (that’s a story for a rainy day), guys who have put in the bare minimum, and guys who ghosted me. But I wouldn’t change a thing because it brought me to where I am now. (Unless I could go back in time and date Zac Efron—then I would change a thing or two.)
To all the women out there that feel pressured to date and settle down because their “clock is ticking,” I want you to know that wherever you are in your life right now is exactly where you are supposed to be. Enjoy being single. Cherish your alone time. Embrace putting yourself first. Appreciate being able to make decisions that benefit you. Get to know yourself! Take yourself on dates, read books that challenge the way you think, take classes that you’ve always wanted to try, travel the country. Now is your time.
Society, Instagram, celebrities, and the people around you will all make you feel like you’re behind. But you’re not. You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.
Please remember to never settle for less. Chances are your vibrator could do it better anyways.