27-years-old and not a single boyfriend. Dating has never been a thing that’s come easily to me, or at all. I’ve gone on a whopping two dates in my entire lifetime, both with the same weirdo. And yes, he was most definitely a weirdo. I only went on a date with him because one of my friends desperately wanted me to give him a chance.

“He’s just had a little trouble with girls.” No kidding. On our first date, he took the cardboard table centerpiece at Lulu Beans coffee shop and dangled it in front of me like I was a cat, all the while making baby sounds to encourage me to play with it. Just, wow. I’m not even sure why I gave him a second date. I probably just felt bad for him and wanted to educate him on what not to do on a date.

I don’t care about dating because I’m just not worried about finding a life partner right now. Sure, I want to get married and have a loving husband someday, but I’m finally getting somewhere with my career, and I don’t really have time for a guy.

There’s also the fact that the dating pool in my area is more akin to a swampy lagoon than an actual pool of eligible fish men. But then again, it’s most likely this way everywhere. All the good ones are taken, and if they’re not taken, they’re jerks. Remember the photo of Jack from the Creative Writers Workshop blog post? Yeah, he and I hit it off over a couple of drinks at the writers’ after-party, and then the douchenugget never called me back.

If you’re not interested, don’t act like you are and then leave me high and dry. You’re not worth my time.

Sure, there are nice, eligible guys out there. They may be hard to find, but they’re there. The problem is finding a nice guy that’s also a Christian. And I don’t mean a CINO (Christian In Name Only), someone who says they’re a Christian but doesn’t believe the entire Bible as the Word of God. I had the fortune to meet a nice English Christian guy over the internet (don’t judge me) by chance, but after a couple years of mutual feelings and back and forth emails, he said he was going to be gone for awhile and then he never wrote back after that. It’s been more than 4 years. I don’t think he ever intended to come back. Either that, or he forgot his password for the site. Whatever.

I don’t care about dating right now for other reasons as well, namely that I’m finally seeing some success on working through my mental health issues. I don’t feel comfortable giving someone the responsibility of being in a relationship with someone that needs all that extra care. I’m not yet ready to put my significant other through the sometimes stressful emotions of dating someone with a mental illness. Relationships are difficult enough as it is, but when you have to be both significant other and therapist, it can put a strain on you. Being in a relationship right now might set me back with some of my issues, and it’s not worth the stress at the moment.

Also, money. I hate hate hate making other people pay for things for me, and I wouldn’t be able to pay for anything myself right now. I’m still working on earning enough money per month to pay my bills, and although there’s been a sudden upswing in jobs for articles, I’m not to the point where I have spending money. Now is the time to get my career going and learn to manage multiple tasks coming at me so that I can learn to manage my time. Believe it or not, managing your time can be helpful in the dating world to ensure you’re setting aside enough time for your significant other. I’m pretty sure your boyfriend or girlfriend wants you to spend time with them.

That’s about it, really. It takes a load of stress off my mind to just stop worrying about snagging a husband before my ovaries shrivel up because my biological clock has started the countdown to Armageddon (aka Old Maid status). I’m happy just being me right now and working on the things that are important to me. Maybe I’ll find someone someday, maybe not. I’m not going to lose sleep over it.