After a recent breakup, I looked around me and made the shocking realization that I am one of the very few single girls in my friend group. Out of ten of my closest friends, there are just three of us that are without boyfriends. This used to be a depressing thought and the three of us would mope about it, but I’ve turned it into a positive for multiple reasons. So next time your best friend ditches you for a movie date with her boyfriend, think of all these reasons why you’re truly the lucky one:

1. Me Time

This used to freak me out when I was newly single. I had so much more free time to myself. Now my mind is finally clear and free to think about something other than my boyfriend and his life. I have time to do what I want instead of having to consider his needs as well. My girlfriends, on the other hand, have the ole’ ball and chain to worry about and often can’t do all they want to during their day because of him.

2. More Beauty Sleep

As great as it is to have someone to text all the time, I find that most of this would happen at night, right before I’d normally hit the hay. I found myself staying up into the wee hours of the night so that I could text him back. Now, if there’s a boy I want to stay up late texting, I can. But if I’m sleepy, I can crash whenever, no pressure.

3. No More Envy

I cannot begin to say how many times I’ve had to console a friend who is feeling weird or suspicious about her boyfriend’s devotion. If there’s no boyfriend in the picture, there’s no longer any need to worry about jealousy. I remember the feeling—glancing at his phone cautiously when it would ring just to make sure it was his mom or his best friend instead of a lady. Even if there’s nothing to really worry about, girls are always going to have a heightened level of curiosity if their boyfriend ever looks at or talks to another female.

4. Friends of the Boyfriend

This is one of my favorite parts of having a ton of friends with boyfriends while I am single. Sometimes, the boyfriends will bring their homies to hang out. I also have a plethora of “blind date” options for date functions if necessary because my friends and their boyfriends love to set me up. Honestly, they are endless resources to find fun, single boys.

5. Sharing

Let’s be honest, sharing is nice but I like sleeping spread-eagle and not having the covers stolen from me every once in a while. Also, when my friends and I go out and they’re with their boyfriends, there is always an inherent desire for them to split meals with their significant others. It’s really great to be able to eat my own food by myself.

6. Support Systems

While I am always the first person there to support my friends, it’s nice knowing I have a little more independence when it comes to supporting a significant other. I sometimes feel like whenever my friends’ boyfriends are upset, so is my friend. The moods come in pairs. It’s very annoying. I am just as guilty of it, though, when I do have a boyfriend. But for the time being, the only emotions I am worried about are my own.

7. Netflix Freedom

There is nothing worse than begrudgingly accepting the fact that you can’t binge watch Sex and the City because your boyfriend refuses. Instead, you’re watching some show that is fine because you both agreed on it, but you’re still not 100% happy. Why must we suffer through such melancholy situations? Because we have boyfriends who we try to make happy. Don’t get me wrong, every once in a while you should force him to watch your show, but you can’t do that every single time because it isn’t fair. But when you are single and the new season of Game of Thrones comes on HBO, you can watch it alone, free of interruptions.

8. Wing Women

One of the best parts of being single in a group of monogamous ladies is the fact that you will always have a wing woman. When you and the girls hit the bar or the club or wherever, you will always have the friend who is dating someone, but she will be right there for you when it comes to working up conversations with a cute boy and his friends. Once they find out you’re the only one on the market, you cash in. This is hard to do with single girls because it’s always a competition for boys that can result in hurt feelings.

9. Guy Friends

Another great thing about besties with boyfriends is that you are never lacking for a good guy friend. All of their boyfriends are now like your big brothers—they’ll defend you or be there if you are having a boy issue and need a dude’s advice. It’s a buy-one-get-one-free situation, but with friends.

10. Flirt Queen

This is the best part—you can flirt with other guys and your friends can’t! Let it keep raining men.

 

Image courtesy of Getty Images.

By Barbara Bent on May 26, 2016