I’ve been single for a long time. Like, seriously, a loooong time. So when I first started seeing articles with titles like, “10 Reasons Why Being Single is Actually Great” or “Single This Holiday Season? How to Deal” or “How to Be Alone (Without Being Miserable),” I eagerly clicked into each one, expecting to sigh and nod my head in agreement to each generalized, simplified line after the next. Instead, I started to get the idea that for a woman, being single was seen as a waiting place, a place to “find yourself” in your early twenties so that your experiences will lead you to the right partner. I’ve heard newly single celebrities call being (young and) single a “rite of passage,” as if it’s a short, thrilling, test of bravery.

But the thing is, being single doesn’t have to be a lonely, stopping place, where we binge watch Netflix shows, eat ice cream, sleep with dangerous men, and dream about finding our husbands. Maybe we should stop seeing single-dome as a temporary ailment, and think of it as a (permanent) state of mind. I’m not saying that all us single ladies should throw in the towel and vow to stay single forever. But maybe we need to realize that being single does really and truly give us the freedom to be adventurous- and that’s certainly an attitude worth keeping even as we do find our partners.

This line from a Marie Claire articles says it so well: “Repeated studies have found that the more educated a woman is, the more likely she is to marry, and the older she marries, the less likely she’ll divorce- so statistically speaking, if you want to get married, you will.” So maybe we should put this whole single thing in perspective. You probably have less time here in single-dome than you think, and what you do here, the people you meet, the risks you take, are going to define the non-single person you’re one day going to become.

So, I’ve scoured the inter webs for the best, and most honest, reasons why being single is awesome, and put together my own list. Here’s to hoping that this one inspires us all to embrace the life we’re living, single and all.

10 Things that Honestly and Truly Make Being Single Awesome

1. Your money is your own. Seriously. Just yours.

2. Not sharing the bed. If you’ve never slept diagonally on a king size bed just because you could, you’re truly missing out.

3. Learn to trust yourself. And don’t mean in this in some deeply emotional way. I mean, trusting that you are smart and inventive enough to fix your broken window. Or change a headlight. Or carry an armchair up three flights of narrow steps. By yourself.

4. You don’t feel like you have to shave everyday. Or, you know, like ever.

5. You can take a job in Europe. And not worry about how much long distance phone calls are going to cost or how you’re going to split your precious time at home between your boyfriend/parents/siblings/friends. (Follow my sister’s blog for the down low on how being single abroad is working for her. Hint: very well).

6. No drama. No arguments. (but you still have to listen to your friends’)

7. Perfecting the art of being alone but not being lonely.

8. The ability to fart in peace. Don’t take this gift for granted.

9. There’s only one important schedule in your life: yours.

10. Single women exercise more frequently than married women. They have less debt than couples. They are at a lower risk for obesity than married women.

Need I go on?