Don’t Let Anybody Bully You Into Dating

Caving to other people’s expectations when you’re not ready can lead to some really bad dates.

Photo by Vladimir Fedotov on Unsplash

I spent a bigger part of the past 5 years completely alone. I needed to heal from a really bad relationship followed by a hard breakup, and I wanted to take my time. I didn’t want to dive into a relationship when I wasn’t sure if my criteria could be trusted.

But mostly, I didn’t really like anybody.

I‘m great on first dates. I’m good at making up funny things to say in a chat. I know I could go out with someone, and that we would probably have an enjoyable night. There are lots of nice guys out there. But if I just can’t bring myself to like anybody, it’s probably because I’m not ready.

Sounds reasonable, right? Think again.

For some reason, many people around me found it intolerable that a young-ish, moderately attractive woman would decide to be on her own. Single men, even in their forties, are accepted as bachelors and left alone, but a single woman over thirty is a sad case. Argentina isn’t exactly known to be a feminist society so I can’t say I was all that surprised, but it does get annoying.

Since I’m a woman who often voices her opinions and isn’t prone to people-pleasing, some people…