Illustration by: Ashley Fairbourne
Newly single Lipstick Lola plans to redefine being single in Utah County.
Like most relationships worth beginning, mine started with a spark, a chance encounter that set into motion a sequence of events that could rival a Nicholas Sparks novel. Like most relationships worth continuing, it progressed with a sizzle.
The whole summer felt like a song you’d hear on the radio that made you roll the windows down. And, like most relationships that need to end, it went out with a bang; a series of heartbreaks and meltdowns that, once again, could rival a Nicholas Sparks novel.
After the ups and downs of the relationship roller coaster, the ride ended, and I found myself right back at square one. Now that the thrill had worn off, the only thing I had left was the memory of how everything had once felt, but was now passed.
Basically what I’m trying to say is, now I’m single.
If you live in Utah County and you are single past the age of twenty-two, it sometimes feels like a death sentence. It’s as if your time came and passed, because while everyone else was searching for ‘the one’, you were off doing God knows what.
I’m told this is unique to the culture here, but that doesn’t exactly make me feel any better about it. It seems like everywhere I turn there are people posting Facebook statuses about their perfect spouse or Instagramming fresh engagement pictures. It feels a lot harder to be single in a state that, according to 24/7 Wall Street, ties with Idaho for having the youngest average marriage age in the nation.
I mean, I’ve received two different friends’ baby announcements in the mail this year. Two! It’s only January.
So where in this world of teen marriages does a single person find their will to carry on? There are always the outside sources, people who make being single look way cooler than being tied down: James Bond, Carrie Bradshaw, um, the Dalai Lama?
Perhaps I could be a symbol that being single isn’t the end-all? Maybe I could prove that you miss out on a lot that life has to offer if you settle down too early. After all, there is no set age to marry written in stone, at least, not that
I know of. Some people might say that I’m jaded from a break-up or that I’m jealous of other people who have found their other half and now walk around like a completed puzzle as they pity us who still can’t figure out where all our own pieces ended up. To that I say, you could most definitely be right.
Or I could be right. The joyride of free falling into being single might just rival that relationship roller coaster.
After all, there were plenty of influential people in history who lived their entire lives single. Isaac Newton and Emily Dickinson never married anyone, neither did Jesus. I’m pretty sure I can make it past twenty-three on my own without totally freaking out. I hope.
Have any questions about sex, love or relationships that you want addressed in this column? Send an Email to Lipstick Lola at the Gmail account above. All stories, comments or questions are anonymous.
