Miss Conception

So today we’re talking about Miss Conception.  Do you know her?  Let’s see…have you ever gone out to eat and seen someone sitting alone and a sense of pity forms in your chest for them and their loneliness?

Have you ever been to a wedding and wondered where the maid of honor’s date was (surely she has a date)?  Have you ever had a friend ask you if you know of any singles worth pursuing and you wonder why YOU have to find a date for them, clearly there’s something wrong if they cannot find one for themselves.  Maybe they’re just desperate.

Do you recognize Miss Conception now?

These are all examples of Miss Conception rearing her ugly head.  Don’t think that only married or attached people have had encounters with Miss C., nope, singles have come to know her too!  But by getting to know her and allowing her to sink her teeth into you, it breed all kinds of nastiness.  Those thoughts she puts into your head can alienate singles further from an already paired-up group.  They make those walking the journey of life “partner-less” feel like outsiders looking in.  The kind of assumptions of loneliness and desperation, for not other fact than that these individuals have not found or settled for the right person yet, turn what is potentially a strong and confident individual into someone not worthy in your eyes.

Living in today’s world of 2013 makes dating even more difficult.  With social media, you’d think that it would be easier, but stop and consider it.  There is no such thing as a blind date any longer.  Most potential dates are screened through a Google or Facebook search.  So if you’ve ever had a bad night and decided to visit Walmart in your pajamas for an ice cream fix with some friends, or drank a little too much at your second cousin’s wedding, or partied way too hard in college and these instances were caught on film or phone, the potential date could be cancelled before you even have an opportunity to meet face to face.

So dating is tough on its own.  Then judgments are passed without fully understanding the situation.  And to top that off, singles are picked on, bullied and reminded time and again that they’re the odd man/woman out (like we don’t already know).  We attend bachelor and bachelorette parties celebrating relationships that we’re not in.  We attend engagement parties, wedding showers, ceremonies and receptions, celebrating relationships that we’re not in.  We spend money on extravagant gifts for our friends and families to show how much we care for you, but we are viewed almost as sub-human.

Those of you who are attached or married, please consider the feelings of those singles around you.  Remember that before your Facebook status was able to be changed to, “in a relationship” or “engaged” or “married”, it used to say the same thing as ours, “single”.  Were you miserable?  Were you lonely?  Were you desperate?

Let’s send Miss Conception off on a little vacation with a one-way ticket because misconception means that you’re wrong, you made a mistake, or had the wrong idea.  So if you’ve ever allowed her to rule your thoughts about someone without taking the opportunity to understand their views on their journey alone, please consider taking a moment to apologize for those ill-considered thoughts.  Admit your fault and I’m pretty sure you’ll come to understand that singles are…

Brave – Strong-willed – Resilient – Roll with the punches – Learn to adapt – Driven – Strive for the BEST – Have senses of humor, but feelings too – Have dreams and hopes – Have desires for greatness – Want to be loved – Want to love right back!

Will you put aside your pre-conceived notions and give us a chance to shine?

We promise not to disappoint!