I noticed, when I was younger, that many people, myself included, could be susceptible to that societal expectation which demands that you be with someone.

There is a sort of inertia behind the concept; as wehn my mother would say things like "You don't understand now, but you will when you get older and get married and have kids."

It was as if there truly were no other alternatives. The script was a fait accompli.

As time went on, and I managed to stumble into one horrendous relationship after another, I gradually came to realize that this expectation had a serious downside.

There was a point where I finally accepted the reality -- despite societal expectations, despite norms and inertia and traditional "thinking" (I use the term loosely), for some of us it just makes more sense not to bother with the whole thing.

When there is really no one even remotely compatible out there, it gives you a chance to look at "love" from, perhaps, a more detached perspective.

Today, it seems to me that this "romantic ideal" which pervades our culture may, in fact, be doing more harm than good.

People have been saying to me, for some time now, "I can't believe you're still single." It's because they're trapped in that you-have-to-be-with-somebody mindset. I can't live like that, especially when there's no one out there I want to be with.

IT SOUNDS GOOD!!!