Scene at the Grocery store..
Old Friend: Hi, Riz! How have you been? It’s been years since we've heard from each other?
Me: Yeah. Everything’s cool.
Old Friend: I’m okay. I already have three kids. What about you? Miss or Mrs?
Me: (Grinning..) Oh, I just love my surname!
Old Friend: Don’t you have any plans of getting married? Did you happen to have any boyfriend after college? What’s wrong with you, you have a career and you’re not that ugly! Maybe you don’t want a boyfriend but a girlfriend that is.. (evil laugh…)
Me: Haha.. Thank you for the compliment. (Pakyu!!!) Don’t worry, I’ll send you my wedding invitation the soonest possible.
End of conversation.
Oh my God! What’s wrong with these kind people? Don’t they get tired of judging you guilty for not having your significant other? Being single isn’t a disease. It is not even punishable by law. I have been brutally asked and viciously harassed by these questions over and over by friends, families and acquaintances and I find it so difficult to answer them. I just shrug my shoulder and paint a happy smile on my face to hide the thought that’s been eating me for years. I almost came up with a conclusion that single people aren’t fitted in this couple-oriented world and that the government should have designed a particular place for us, “the single ones”, where we could meet up and choose the one we’ll marry. Maybe in that matter, we’re no longer misfits in the society and won’t be charged guilty.
The saddest part is that people even try to accuse you that because you’re single, you might be: a lesbian or a gay ('..and so what if you're a lesbian or a gay, that doesn't make you less as person either-hindi ka lamang sa kapwa mo regardless of your relationship status or estado ng iyong buhay), someone with a bad attitude and unlikable personality and worst, people think you’re extremely ugly that no one even dared to ask for your name or your number. Huwag kang manghusga ng kapwa dahil hindi mo alam ang istorya ng buhay nila.
I am single by choice.
I was ditched by my first boyfriend. (that dumb ass!!!)
I had several flings and it all ended gracefully. (whew..)
I was always the bride’s maid at the wedding.
I am a godmother of twenty eight cute and loving inaanaks.
I have entertained a dozen of horrible textmates.
I thought I was a fool in love with someone who’s not that into me. (ouchhhh...)
I was asked by my pupils to marry their Uncle and their favorite ice cream vendor.
I was referred to a stranger with multiple personality.
I was courted by a married man and interacted with his wife on the phone.
I fell in love with the man I met at the internet.
I was wooed by a hoodlum.
What more could I say? There’s nothing wrong with being single as long as you’re happy. True love happens when you start believing that one day, it’ll come after you. I know that there’s no such thing as Mr. Right but only right choices at the right time.
I will not intend to marry for the sake of getting married. I will not intend to have a boyfriend for the sake of simple having one. I will not force myself to get into any relationship so I could start bragging how great my sex life was. I don’t have to prove others that I am definitely not a lesbian just because I don't have any man in my life. I don’t have to provide them answers and justify every actions I make.
Yes, I am single. I may be sick and tired hearing questions from people who finds enjoyment and satisfaction with my “paulit-ulit na sagot sa paulit-ulit na tanong” but I never get tired of living life to the fullest. I may not have found my significant other, the missing piece of my puzzle or the "ka-pares ng aking tsinelas"but I have enough friends who truly care for me and a great family to love me without ceasing.
Someday, my prince will come after me. It doesn't have to end in a "happily-ever-after mode" but for sure, it'll be as perfect as the ones I read in fairy tales.
And the next time someone asks me why I’m still single, I’d look her in the eyes and tell her: “God is busy writing the best love story for me, nasa unang kabanata pa lang sya!”
