The Single Woman Says: I have a question.

The Single Woman Says:

I have a question.

When did our relationship status become symbolic of our status in life? When did someone decide it takes “putting a ring on it” to give a woman value and worth? And when did “single” become synonymous with “desperate”? In the post-modern, post-sex & the City, post-Spice Girls world we live in, hasn’t the notion of “Girl Power” caught on yet? It seems that although women have had the right to vote for decades now, they still don’t have the right to vote for how they’re going to spend their own lives.

So, as the fierce and fabulous Martina McBride would say: “This one’s for the girls.”

This one’s for the girls who believe in love, but also believe in themselves. The ones that have looked settling in the eye and walked away. The ones who know their worth better than to accept a life less than the one they deserve. The girls who happen to prefer registering for pole-dancing aerobics to registering for china. The girls who choose margarita parties over Tupperware parties. The girls who know they don’t need a ring to sing…or a mate to be great. The girls who know that ME has to come before WE. The ones who know that late blooming roses are often the sweetest. The ones who like owning their own schedules, their own weekends, their own independence. The ones who boldly chart their own path…even if it doesn’t include a white picket fence. The ones who hope for romance but with or without it, crank up the music and DANCE. The girls who don’t allow their joy to depart simply because love hasn’t yet arrived.

At the end of the day, next time you check the box “S” for single, remember this: Single is no longer a lack of options – but a choice. A choice to refuse to let your life be defined by your relationship status but to live every day Happily and let your Ever After work itself out. Whether or not you have someone in the passenger seat, you are still the driver of your own life and can take whatever road you choose. So the next time you hit a speed bump otherwise known as the age-old question “Why are you still single?” look ‘em in the eye and say: “Because I’m too fabulous to settle.

Mandy Hale