Southern Belle in Training

Fashion, Travel & Lifestyle Blog || Est. 2012 || Virginia Beach, VA

July 15, 2019

Relationship Monday: 10 Great Things About Being Single in Your 20s.

     Last year was the year that I truly fell in love with life as a single 20-something woman! Loving my single life doesn't mean that I still don't desire to fall in love and get married in the future- but what it does mean is that I'm truly content in the season of life that I'm in, and excited about what's still to come while it's just me, myself and I! I wrote a blog post last year titled "How I Fell in Love with Being Single", and today's blog post is kind of the one year follow up to that!




10 Great Things About Being Single in Your 20s:

     *Put your career first: This is a life stage when you can put work first! I don't mean becoming a workaholic and not having work/life balance. What I do mean is really following your heart and dedicating yourself to finding a career path that you love! Find a great job in your field out of state? Move and take it! Want to invest in higher education to advance your career goals? Do it! Want to switch careers? Why not! Being a single young adult means you have the time and flexibility to really figure out what you want to do in life, and that's exciting! (Not saying you can't succeed in the career world when you're in a serious relationship of course, but there is something unique about being single that allows you to make this more of a focus!)

     *Freedom to move and explore before putting down roots: This might be my favorite thing on the list! I am eternally so grateful that my parents supported me going to college far from home, and I'm also grateful that my career of choice in post-grad life allows me to move around the country for work. I truly think few things bring as much personal growth and incredible experiences as moving out of state (or to a further different part of your state). When you're a single adult, you're free to move around as much as you choose! Even if you move somewhere that you don't love (*cough cough* Vermont for me!), you might still have life changing experiences through that.

     *Prioritize friendships: Being a single woman means prioritizing friends!! I've often seen it as a theme that people I knew who got into serious relationships younger in life often have a hard time still prioritizing friendships in adulthood, while those that were single for awhile before meeting their person tend to have a better friend/significant other life balance. There are few things more precious than memories shared with sweet friends! I personally am a huge fan of the dinner club that a few of my girlfriends and I started, as well as planning a few different girls' weekend trips a year!

     *Get a firm sense of what you're looking for in a partner: The more months or years that you're single, the more that you'll get to date different people! I shared in last week's Relationship Monday post about bad dates that I truly am thankful for all of the weird and awkward first dates I've been on- all of them help teach me what it is I don't want in a significant other!

     *Your PTO from work is 100% yours: Another huge and underrated perk of being single! You get to use all of your PTO for yourself, however you like it! Your vacation times and destinations aren't determined by someone else, or their family commitments. You can use your time to go wherever you like, whenever you like! I personally love being able to do girls' weekend trips a few times a year right now.

     *Not having to save money for wedding / family expenses: Weddings are magical, but they sure are expensive! As are things like home ownership, starting a family, and all the other expenses that come once you're in a serious relationship. If you're single in your 20s, you can be saving money for anything your heart desires! Take that dream vacation, save for a new car, invest in your hobbies,

     *More time to serve: It's much easier to find time to give of yourself regularly to a cause that you are passionate about when you're single! Not saying of course that those in relationships or with families can't spend time serving as well, but it's definitely something that you can make more time for as a single person. There was a local place in Charlottesville that I really enjoyed volunteering at for the past nine months, and this fall I'm looking forward to finding a new opportunity to serve my community in my free time!

     *No commitments to significant other's family: Let's face it: in-law relations aren't always the greatest. Even if you are lucky to get along great with your significant other's immediate and extended family, having more relatives in your life can bring forth a lot of unexpected commitments. I know from friends in relationships and married that it can also get tough with figuring out holiday logistics between two families. Singles thankfully don't have to cross these bridges just quite yet!

     *Pursue hobbies: What's something you can do with the extra time that you have as a single person? Hobbies! This blog started as one for me during my freshman year of college, and had I gotten married right out of college like I always imagined I would I'm not sure if I'd still be blogging in the capacity that I am today! Other hobbies that I personally have include cooking/baking, reading, and working out. Later this year I'm hoping to dive more into photography and also starting to re-learn French. The sky is the limit for fun hobbies you can pursue. Who knows- maybe when you are in a relationship you can include that person in your favorite ones!

     *Sleep better: This might seem like a funny one to put on the list, but I think it's so underrated! I have always been a very light sleeper, and I've always wondered how I would adjust to sharing a bed someday with my future husband. Not even to mention of course how terrible sleep is for parents of babies and young children... basically years of sleep loss are in my future, and for now I'm happy to enjoy sleeping peacefully and alone! 😊


    Fellow ladies (or guys!), what are some things in your single life that you're grateful for? Or if you were single for a long time in the past, feel free to share things that you loved then! I truly can't wait to be in a serious relationship someday, but until then I'm so thankful for the contentment that God has blessed me with!

    Thanks for following along with these Monday posts that were my July monthly series- keep up with past Relationship Monday posts here! My monthly series for August will be posted on Tuesdays again like months prior.



     God Bless,


     xoxo Annaliese






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4 comments

  1. As you know, I went through a LONG period of singleness and one of the things I'm most thankful for was it gave me uninterrupted time to focus on the Lord and grow a really meaningful relationship with him. Through that I was able to see what he wanted in my career, friendships, romantic relationships, and giving back- which allowed me to pursue his will for my life fully! Following him with abandon eventually lead me to meeting the love of my life- so I am forever grateful!

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  2. This is a great post and your list is spot on! Being single definitely brings about the kind of freedom that doesn't come along when you are in a serious relationship or have a family. The one important thing that I enjoyed while being alone was the self reflection that came with being single. It allowed me to process the day to day events which in return allowed me to choose the kind of life that I want.

    Maureen | www.littlemisscasual.com

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  3. THIS. Yes. I was single for just about my entire 20s and met the love of my life at age 30-and-a-half... and wouldn't have changed a THING! I am not the same person I was when I was 22 (and thought something was wrong with me for not having a ring on my finger.. no joke). Now I'm established in my career, have more money, and we're able to have great, fun dates and travel to amazing places. When we do have kids, I know it'll be an adjustment, but at least we've had great experiences as a couple to look back on :). Thanks for writing this!

    www.basicbritt.com

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  4. These are spot on, girl friend! I love married life, but I have had to learn to priorities these.

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