The holidays are right around the corner and along with great food and interesting gifts, single people can also expect a healthy interrogation about the status of their love life. Fret not! Instead of wallowing in sadness, let’s choose to view our singleness as a gift to be treasured. holiday
Here are 3 ways you can enjoy your holiday season while in-between baes.
When you don’t have a significant other, friendships are often the most significant relationships in our lives.
With that said, there’s nothing wrong with leaning on your friends to be your plus-one to your office holiday party or your family’s Christmas dinner. If anything, it’ll probably be more fun!
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One of the great things about the holiday season is the opportunity to partake in long-lasting traditions with friends and family.
Contrary to popular belief though, you don’t have to be married with children to create life-long memories worth repeating every year.
While single, you should definitely feel empowered to start your own holiday traditions.
This can be as simple as buying a Christmas tree for your apartment, hosting an annual dinner with friends, or even volunteering at a local soup kitchen.
You don’t have to wait until you have a partner to create great memories. You can start practices that bring happiness at any station in your life.
The natural thing to do when overwhelming emotions bubble up is to ignore or suppress them. This season, consider allowing yourself to actually feel everything.
Singleness, especially for women, is not often celebrated in the same way that marriage and relationships are. More often than not, being around couples during the holidays is a painful reminder of that fact.
It may be cathartic to begin journaling and reflecting on the highs and the lows of the year, particularly around this time of the year with the holidays right around the corner.
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Think about who you are as a single individual in your life’s journey. Let yourself feel any jealousy and acknowledge that it’s a normal, human reaction. Be honest, gentle and gracious with yourself.
Sadness over this station in your life doesn’t make you weak or mean that you’re doing singleness in the wrong way. It means that we are real people with real feelings.
So, if tears prick your eyes, let them fall. If you feel the need to take a moment to gather yourself at a holiday party, find the nearest bathroom or quiet corner and cry if you need to.
But as you’re cleaning your face, remember that there is nothing wrong with you because you’re not coupled. You are whole. This is one of the greatest times of your life, during the greatest time of year.
Jasmine Browley holds an MA in journalism from Columbia College Chicago, and has contributed to Ebony, Jet and MADE Magazine among others. So, clearly, she knows some stuff. Follow her digital journey @JasmineBrowley.
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