Can single people really be happy?

Society makes singlehood out to be something weird or unfortunate -- something that needs to be remedied. When some people find out a person is in their 40s and 50s and still single, they tend to give the individual awkward looks and assume something must be wrong with them.

Well, guess what?

Studies show that many people are single and loving it.

When asked why they're content being single, many say they relish being free and unshackled. They like not having to depend on or run decisions -- whether financial or otherwise -- by a partner.

They love doing whatever they want, whenever they want, with no one to get in their way. Want to wake up at noon? No problem. Leave for Hawaii on a whim? No one's stopping you.

And when they're asked whether they do get lonely sometimes, they say they're able to avoid such feelings by tapping into their wide network of friends and relatives.

Many of these folks have been burned in the past by an ex and refuse to give their hearts to anyone else again. Others met a more unfortunate fate -- their partners died -- and they've opted not to jump back into the dating market ever again.

If these people are happier being by themselves, more power to them. They shouldn't feel a social imperative to get with someone if that isn't the road they wish to go down. It's their life to live and no one else's!

Just like kids, marriage and relationships aren't for everyone. Many people find the single life much more fulfilling, as it affords them the freedom to do everything on their own terms.

I applaud people who are single and proud of it. It only goes to show that those who say everyone feels incomplete and depressed without a partner are quite misinformed.

Would you be happy living a single life?

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