From The Straits Times    |
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Image: Dmitriy Shironosov/123rf

To all you single ladies out there, congratulations: You’ve almost survived the holidays without having an other half! Soon you will no longer have to paste a fake smile on your face and shrug off the endless insensitive questions like: “why until now you got no boyfriend, ah?” (well, at least until Chinese New Year comes along).

No offence to the blissfully attached couples, but it is my honest opinion that being single is the best way to celebrate New Year’s Eve. You get to do a lot more things without a significant other, and the freedom’s pretty sweet, too!

1. You get to party haaaaard
New Year’s Eve is synonymous with non-stop parties, and no one knows how to party harder than your single self, amirite? Take it from a happily attached girl: Parties with your boyfriend are rarely any fun.

Why, you may ask? It comes with all sorts of uncomfortable situations. He may not like the idea of you partying, you may have to endure judgemental glares when you down five shots of vodka at once, and one of you will be forced to awkwardly make small talk with the other’s group of friends, who are almost always in attendance when it comes to big events like NYE. 

But you won’t have to deal all those problems when you’re single. The only thing you have to worry about is having as much fun as you can (and perhaps the hangover the next morning). So go ahead and unleash your inner party animal! 

2. There’s no need to compromise
No matter how much you think you have in common with a guy – no two people are the same and this means that you’re both likely to have very different NYE celebration ideas. And unfortunately, this means that someone is going to have to grudgingly go along with the other’s plans. 

When you’re single, you don’t have to strike a compromise with anyone at all. Well, yes, you may have to plan things out with your girlfriends or be the awkward third wheel as your BFF makes out with her boyfriend of 4 years. But hey, they won’t leave you out if they’re your real friends. #GirlCode

3. You’re the boss 
When you’re single, you get to call the shots. You can stay in. You can go out. Or you can do both! There’s no boyfriend to guilt-trip you with questions like “Why don’t you want to go to [insert place you have no interest in going to] to celebrate NYE with me? Am I not important enough?”

NO, SIR. What’s important is your freedom to live life on your terms. And you get to do that when you’re single! 

4. Girl time
Is there anything more fun than a night out with your closest girlfriends? When you’re single, you can actually participate wholeheartedly in a girls’ night out. And by “wholeheartedly”, I mean that you don’t have to check your phone every five seconds to text a boyfriend or leave the party early because he wants a supper-buddy. Also, you don’t have to put your blinders up and pretend you can’t see that Chris Hemsworth-look-alike staring at you.

5. Endless possibilities ahead
New Year’s resolutions take on a whole new meaning when you’re single. You could wish for all sorts of things. A lunch date with that cute guy at the gym? A romantic, star-crossed encounter with Mr Right? There’s a whole world of possibilities out there.

These New Year wishes are way more fun and diverse than the usual “I want a diamond ring this year” because you simply have no idea what life has in store for you. As they say, the fun lies with not knowing.

6. No pressure
If you don’t already know, expectations are HIGH when you’re in a relationship. Some partners expect grand declarations of love or a romantic getaway during NYE, and will be downright upset when it doesn’t happen (Spoiler alert, it usually doesn’t.)

When you’re single, you won’t have to stress out over trivial couple issues like whether you should get him a handwritten card or how to phrase your romantic text message in a way that it doesn’t sound too ‘cheesy’. No pressure, sister.

7. New Year’s Kiss > True Love’s Kiss
Okay, that’s subjective, but there’s something very thrilling about being able to kiss whoever you like, just because you want to. Your BFF, your cat, the vodka bottle, that handsome dude at the party you just met an hour ago… Take your pick!

 

Happy New Year, ladies. Here’s to an awesome year ahead. Maybe next year, you’ll be rereading this article with your new boyfriend and going “I’m glad I was single then.” 

And I may have to write another article on how to celebrate NYE with a boyfriend.