1) Having whatever haircut you want
For girls, this means the freedom to try a pixie cut. For guys, it can mean the freedom to shave their heads or grow a beard. In a perfect world, no partner would ban you from getting your dream hairstyle. But from experience, it’s not so easy to randomly chop off your lusciously long locks when you know that a guy’s going to whine about how much he misses them.
2)Spending Valentine’s Day with your other single gal pals
Contrary to popular belief, Valentine’s Day is actually a ton of fun when you’re unattached. It’s a great excuse to throw a party with your other single friends. Dress up in fancy clothes, put on a girl power movie, bust out the cupcakes, and you’ll have as epic a night as any other couple. And since Valentine’s Day celebrates love, you can also spend the day loving others without being held back by obligations to your significant other. Volunteer at an old folks’ home. Visit your parents. Surprise your other single friends at work with goodie bags. You’ll find that love is just as fulfilling, if not more fulfilling, than romance itself
Contrary to popular belief, Valentine’s Day is actually a ton of fun when you’re unattached. It’s a great excuse to throw a party with your other single friends. Dress up in fancy clothes, put on a girl power movie, bust out the cupcakes, and you’ll have as epic a night as any other couple. And since Valentine’s Day celebrates love, you can also spend the day loving others without being held back by obligations to your significant other. Volunteer at an old folks’ home. Visit your parents. Surprise your other single friends at work with goodie bags. You’ll find that love is just as fulfilling, if not more fulfilling, than romance itself
3)Watching whatever you want at the cinema
One of the most annoying things about being in a relationship is that you have to take turns over what movie to watch. Unless you’re one of those couples who miraculously have the exact same taste in films, you’ll find yourself sitting through a two-hour movie that you don’t care about just so you can watch your movie the following week. And don’t even get us started on having to choose what shows to marathon over the weekend.
One of the most annoying things about being in a relationship is that you have to take turns over what movie to watch. Unless you’re one of those couples who miraculously have the exact same taste in films, you’ll find yourself sitting through a two-hour movie that you don’t care about just so you can watch your movie the following week. And don’t even get us started on having to choose what shows to marathon over the weekend.
4)Saving money on presents Granted, half the fun of celebrating an anniversary is receiving a gift as well as giving one, but let’s face it: these occasions call for some serious pocket money. Between Christmas, Valentine’s Day, birthdays, and anniversaries, you could probably book yourself a three-day island vacation with the same amount of cash. And let’s not discount the amount of time and research required to select each gift. People might complain about how lonely it is to be single over the holidays, but it’s not as if the alternative is stress-free.
5)Not having to deal with this conversation
Girl: “Where do you want to eat tonight?”
Guy: “Whatever you want is fine.”
Girl: “But I don’t know what I want.”
[Three hours later]
Guy: “Maybe we should just order KFC.”
Girl: “Never mind lah, I’m not hungry anymore.”
Guy: “Whatever you want is fine.”
Girl: “But I don’t know what I want.”
[Three hours later]
Guy: “Maybe we should just order KFC.”
Girl: “Never mind lah, I’m not hungry anymore.”
Being single gives you the opportunity to operate on your own schedule, and according to your own cravings. It’s the one time in your life when you can be really selfish about what you eat. So why not enjoy it?
6) Feeling relieved about being single when you listen to your friends fight with their S.O.’s over the phone Nothing makes singlehood sweeter than being able to bask in your relatively uncomplicated life while listening to your best friend bicker over the phone with her boyfriend. Same goes for vacationing with friends who return to the hotel early every night so they can check in with their boyfriends over Skype. Spare us, please
7) Having an unbridled social life
Singlehood is what you make of it. And while pop culture stereotypes single people as basement dwellers who cry into their ice cream every Friday night, being single is a prime opportunity for making new friends and having fun. While plenty of couples settle into their comfort zone by either staying home or only going out with other couples (or worse, just each other), the freedom of singlehood is the perfect excuse to party without any obligations. Instead of spending every Sunday afternoon eating with the guy’s family, you can take that time to check out cafes, go cycling, or go bar-hopping with your friends. You can hang out with whoever you please, for however long, without worrying about neglecting a significant other.
8) Being a workaholic (and not feeling guilty about it)
Single? Now is the time to let your workaholic tendencies run wild. Without any obligations for date nights, you’re free to work overtime for as many nights as you please without feeling bad that you’re ditching a boyfriend or girlfriend for work. Things change once you find someone. No matter how far you want to go professionally, you’ll always have to work around the fact that your job is no longer the centre of your life. Singlehood is the prime time to devote 110 per cent into climbing the corporate ladder.
9) Sleeping in your own bed
For as many sad songs exist about sleeping alone, having your own bedroom is highly underrated. You can hog all the blankets! You can sleep in the starfish position! You can drool all over the pillows without feeling embarrassed the next day. And best of all, you’re in complete control of the air conditioner.
10) The freedom to have a pet
Couples who like the same animals are lucky. But if you’re on either extreme of the dog vs. cat spectrum, have fun dealing with a partner whose pet preferences are completely different than yours. What happens if you love dogs, but the love of your life is afraid of them? Or what if the person you’re dating insists on keeping his cats, but they give you allergies? Joke all you want about being a spinster with dozens of cats, but at least being single gives you the liberty to have them.
11) Being able to make life-changing decisions at the drop of a hat Namely, moving to a different country. Being single gives you the freedom to accept overseas assignments, to go on sabbatical, or to pack up your things altogether and start anew. Of course, lots of couples still move abroad together when one party accepts a foreign post, but the process is far less dramatic when you’re uprooting one person than when you’re uprooting two.
12) The anticipation of meeting someone new Don’t get us wrong – it’s not easy being perennially single, especially when you spend every day wondering when you’ll finally meet the right person. But as the old adage goes, “It’s better to be single than to wish you were.” No matter how hopeless your search feels, there’s always an element of hope in singleness. Who knows when you’ll meet someone new? It could be tomorrow. It could be a year from now. Being in a relationship has its own joys, but nothing really compares to the thrill of meeting someone new and wondering if, at last, this guy is “The One.”
