I have a secret I have never shared with anyone but close friends and immediate family. I am 22 years old and I have never been in a successful long-term relationship or even had a boyfriend. Even writing this feels like a giant weight has been lifted off my chest. While I am not ashamed of my relationship status, it isn't something I typically use as a defining characteristic.
Throughout high school, I blamed my lack of relationships on the fact that I went to an art school and most men were either gay or way too short I'm 5'10" for some reference. I thought things would change when I finally started college, but four years later and about to start my victory lap, I remain single.
While in high school, I hated being single and felt as though there was something wrong with me β that because I didn't have a boyfriend, I was somehow less than my friends who were in relationships. The teen dramas I watched all featured these high school girls with boyfriends conditioning me to believe my experience was the anomaly. I figured there had to be something wrong with me. Was I too awkward, too tall, too nerdy, or too weird?
Now, at 22 years old, I'm OK with my status because I don't need a man to have fun, enjoy my college experience, or to be a happy and well-rounded individual. Throughout college, I have casually dated some pretty great guys. Men with job titles ranging from lawyer to sports reporter to finance manager. My dating escapades even earned me the title of serial dater from my best friend.
While a majority of these men were perfectly nice and I could have easily fallen into a relationship with any of them, I wasn't excited about the possibility since there wasn't a spark.
