You Don’t Have to Get Used to Staying Single

Enjoying time on your own and settling for being single for eternity are different

Photo by Caju Gomes on Unsplash

I am terrified of dying alone. There, I said it. It has been on my mind for quite a long time now, and it took me a long time to admit it.

I read (and wrote, too) tons of articles about being single and about how to enjoy it, how to make the most of it, how to make peace with it. There was one that I remember too well because it nearly broke my heart. The point of that very article was that if you are single, you have to make peace with the possibility that you will stay single forever. According to the author, this was a liberating feeling — and it is within the realms of possibility.

I was reading it and I was screaming internally. No. No. No.

It was a well-written article with solid arguments. And as the author was painting the picture of the possibility of staying forever alone, I felt some excruciating anxiety creeping on me. She meant well. She found solace in acceptance. She made peace with being alone. But it felt like a horror story for me.

The world is unpredictable. Anything can happen. Anything good and anything bad. It is within the realms of possibility that tomorrow I get diagnosed with a terminal illness. Or I get…