Why I Actually Prefer Being Single This Holiday, Even During A Pandemic
Wine and Taylor Swift are all you need.
Getty The holiday season, typically from Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve, is often a time spent with your loved ones and family.
Being single during this time of year often evokes pity from those around you who are coupled up — there’s actually a lot of reasons why I prefer being single during the holidays.
When you’re single during the holidays there’s no pressure to do anything extravagant with your partner and get each other awesome gifts or go to expensive restaurants and waste a lot of money.
So there’s that, but also there’s no pressure for you to do anything or go anywhere, you can just be at home chilling and if you want to see a couple of your girlfriends and have a GNO (at your home, of course — thanks COVID).
Of course, this time of year reminds you that you’re alone constantly. However, sometimes there’s a great thing about being single and being with yourself that makes you feel better, that you can fight this craving of wanting someone or something to happen.
If you are a horoscope fanatic like me, I found it actually helped that my horoscope told me that being single during this time of year is best for me — and I mean if astrology is saying something about your relationship life then I’d listen to it.
The worst question that’s asked during the holidays is when people ask why you’re single and never realize you are choosing to be single.
However, it’s normal to sometimes think about seeing someone this time of year and daydreaming about cute holiday couple things like going ice skating, Christmas tree picking, baking cookies, and cuddling.
However, you don’t need to think about that because you are a strong and independent woman who doesn’t need to hear one more bad thing about being single during the holidays.
I want you to feel empowered and feel okay that you’re single during the holidays because, if anything, there are probably way more people who are single during the holidays because of COVID, so know you’re not alone.
I prefer being single because I’ve actually learned during this time of year to love myself first and working on what makes me happy and how to be a happier person. It makes me feel better when I indulge myself in self-care activities and stay in the present each day.
Never waste a day thinking about a previous ex or relationship because it’ll just make you upset and feel alone again. Try to spend time with your friends during this time of year as safe as you can. You don’t have to totally be alone during the holidays if you don’t have a significant other.
During this free time, try something new while you’re single. Get into a new hobby, or buy a present for yourself, treat yourself! Use this time to literally do whatever the hell you want to do.
Normally if you were in a relationship, most of your free time would be used up by your significant other, and there’s not much extra time for random fun things.
The pandemic also really adds an extra element to this time of year that makes it even worse to deal with being single, but this will prove that you’re stronger than you ever thought and that you can survive being single.
Living in a pandemic is kind of a great excuse for not forcing yourself to go out and find someone and that’s honestly a bit of a relief.
I prefer being single now more than ever because I don’t have to worry about going out on dates and getting COVID as I’d actually much rather be at home with a nice red or pink wine, listening to Taylor Swift, or watching cheesy Netflix Christmas movies and having a great time by myself.
Ask yourself what you've always wanted to do this time of year and give it a try.
Lastly, don’t feel hard on yourself because once again we are literally still living in a pandemic and it’s okay to be single and that it’s pretty normal to be single during this time of year.
Do what you want to do, feel how you want to feel, but know that you are amazing and don't need a partner to be happy during the holidays.
Megan Hatch is a writer at YourTango who covers love and relationships, pop culture, and zodiac.