The Single Life

I've been a single man for *goes back in time* close to nine years now. Pretty much, when Jordan came in the League in '84 and retired (the first time) in '93, I've been single that long. When Bad Boys came out in '94 and Bad Boys II came out in '03 (I think it was nine years between the two but, if not, whatever; you get the idea), I've been single that long. When a kid was in the third grade and that same kid graduated from high school nine years later, I've been single that long.

In those three examples, it was the same man, same movie and the same kid, but things took place in those years to make them what they became. Same with me; I was single at 21, but I'd be lying if I said that, just because I'm single now, I'm the same man at 29 (saying the next number that I'll be later this year is a no-no for now) that I was then.

A theory about The Single Life is that when you're single, you can pretty much do whatever you want, with whoever you want, damn near however you want, because you're single. That's the theory; a theory can be written on a sheet of paper, in a book, magazine, journal, online or whatever.

However, life doesn't work that way. Just because you're a single person, it doesn't mean you can truly do whatever, because another person, or people if you're dating freely, are in the equation. Sure, single people can act like it's all good, but feelings are bound to come, and saying "Well, I'm single" or "Well, I said this is how it's going to be" isn't good enough. It discounts human emotion, feeling, the ability people have to change their minds, outlook, what they want, what they deserve.

So while there are some things that are great about being single, it's not necessarily the greatest thing in the world, and this is coming from someone who used to look at relationships like the plague and stayed single, guarded their heart and wouldn't open up for a long time. I look at them totally different now and have for quite a while now. So while it's currently The Single Life, to look at this as it was nine years ago would not be wise. It negates plenty of life experiences that have transpired since then.

Forever is a long time, and that, as uncertain as it is, isn't necessarily a bad thing. As a matter of fact, it will be great....when the time is right.

1/6/12 @ 9:34 P.M.

Photo by Mike Hudson