So here we go again! Getting sad thinking ‘Oh no, it's Valentine’s Day and I'm single’ like every year around this time.<br/><br/>It is not really the worst thing in the world being single and one can easily get through it. I speak from 8 years of experience! I have had sporadic flings, but I have not been in a steady and serious relationship now for eight years.<br/><br/>However, people often look at me as if being single is a kind of sickness and I don't have much time left! I am only 29 years old so I wonder if the Earth's demise is a bit nearer on the horizon? They just look at me with eyes as if they feel so sorry for me! <br/><br/>Sorry, but you can easily be happy just because you are single. I've chosen this lifestyle myself.<br/><br/>Being single has not made my life empty. I feel instead that we realize more values in life when we, as singles, have a free rein to do whatever suits our needs best; there is no one to consider if you do not want to come home at a fixed time or don't want to be bothered by cooking dinner- small mercies but life is made of small pleasures, after all. And there is no need for bad conscience if you go berserk shopping and spend too much money on the jersey that was soo good-looking in the window. <br/><br/>It's fantastic! Of course there can also be a dark side. We do not have anyone to come home to or snuggle with. But, fortunately, problems can be solved - you can get a lover. ;)<br/><br/>Not that I'm saying that I'm trying to persuade people to go single, I certainly am not doing that. If you don't feel like committing right here and now then it's a good opportunity and you can go ahead and spoil each other on Valentine's day :)<br/><br/>But if you are not so lucky, then utilise this day for your family or a good friend because V-Day is not reserved just for couples to give chocolates and flowers to each other. It is a day where we are reminded to take care of those we love. <br/><br/>So be creative and give your loved ones the time of their life and they will remember this day until the next Valentine's day!<br/><br/>I have always been an independent woman and am getting fiercer about it. I mark my territory and have become more confident in what I want in my partner. So you could say I have become picky! <br/><br/>It is a pattern that most women go through during their life. They begin to look more on the man's qualities and similarities with themselves rather than his appearance and it makes it quite a lot harder to find someone you want to spend the rest of your life with! <br/><br/>Oh everything was so easy in those teenage years, getting together with someone was just so easy. It started with "hey, you look cute" and it was a done deal! But now, it's a whole new song we like to sing.<br/><br/>It is pure luck that brings one across their true love and that can be a lasting one.<br/><br/>I think it is beautiful when a couple has been together for many years and still has the passion and love for each other. But one should always be careful about not getting too dependent on one another. <br/><br/>Many couples can hardly do a thing if they are separated and often one partner reaches a halt, as if working on a battery that the other half is carrying around with them! That is not healthy in a relationship.<br/><br/>I think the really healthy ingredients in a lasting relationship are that each partner has their own interests to go about, freely. Have their own friends, hobbies, etc., which they can spend time with and then have a separate common time together with their partner. It will probably maintain the momentum of the fire that burns between the two of you. <br/><br/>I'm not an expert on love but that is my theory on relationships and ultimately, marriage. Once I find myself a life companion, it is in the above described way I would like my relationship to blossom.<br/><br/>However if it doesn't work, I'll probably have to find another solution because we do not give up simply because there is a hill we have to climb. Most of us give up too easily, we don't fight for love any more and it is sad to see that romance is dying out of our lives.<br/><br/>So, for Christ’s sake, FIGHT! You must love fellow humans and to all of you out there who are climbing up the hill right now, give it an extra push and use this Valentine’s Day to look back at that time when everything was joyful & merry and then ask yourself whether it is not worth fighting for it all!<br/><br/><i>(Barbara Zatler was a Playboy & Maxim model who now enjoys a career in TV and films.)</i>
