“A busy, vibrant, goal-oriented woman is so much more attractive than a woman who waits around for a man to validate her existence.”
― Mandy Hale, The Single Woman: Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass

Hello there, gentle readers. My name is Katy. I am 29 years old and live in the Deep South. I am single and actually really happy about it.From my experience, the culture in the South makes you feel that once you reach a certain age, you need to be on the lookout for a husband. When I was in my early twenties, that was my goal. Every relationship I entered, I would think to myself, “this is the one” (thankfully, I was wrong about those guys). I was on the search for a husband and ended up with a broken heart when the guy didn’t turn out to be “the one”. When I see someone for the first time in a while, the first question I get asked is “so is there a guy?” No! There isn’t! But there are way more awesome things about my life right now than a guy. Thanks for not asking.

What I have realized is that so many young women feel that there is something wrong with them when all of their friends are getting married and leaving them behind. I have been that girl! I can’t tell you how many friends don’t talk to me anymore because they’re married and can only do “couple” activities. (Oh wait, they DO call when they want me to come to their baby showers. UGH. Can I just say that I hate wedding and baby showers. I know that is a terrible thing to say, but there it is. I am over it.)

Once I got over the shock of losing friends to marriage, I discovered that I don’t really want what they have. I’m not ready to “settle down”. Sure, I want to get married someday, but what I have right now is pretty awesome. I am an independent woman. I do what I want, when I want. I spend my money on whatever I like and go wherever I want. Later this year, I am planning on taking a solo trip to New Zealand to celebrate my 30th birthday. I couldn’t do that if I was married with kids.

I hope that by sharing my story I will encourage at least one person to stop waiting around for a guy, and start living their life. Be awesome. Be empowered. Be SINGLE!