It’s the Love Month, and for sure, we’ll be surrounded by reminders of why it’s so great to be in love. As a single girl, it’s easy to fall into the bitter trap, but I know better now. I’ve been single for a little over a year now, and the time since I got over that breakup (roughly two months after) up to now has proven to be one of the best of my life.

I always thought that relationship was it, that the next step for me would be marriage. But, things don’t always go the way you plan them, since apparently something better is in store for me. And while I wait for The One, I am enjoying all the fine things the single life has to offer. Here are some of them.

1. I enjoy my company more. I’ve always been an independent girl, and everyone who knows me knows that about me, too. I’m never one to shy away from watching a movie alone or hanging out in a cafe or dining in a restaurant by my lonesome. I’m learning to enjoy traveling alone, too. Well, I’ve only experienced traveling “alone” for work, although I’m technically in the company of colleagues instead of friends and a boyfriend. But soon, I shall truly travel alone. I can’t wait!

2. Speaking of travel…I get to travel more and create new, different experiences I can call my own. It’s great to travel with friends and family, and it’s lovely to travel with a boyfriend, but the feeling of not needing company when I explore new places is exhilaratingly liberating. All my experiences in that trip would be mine and mine alone, and that gives me a high. I just came back from a trip to El Nido, Palawan, where I had a huge room overlooking the beautiful blue sea all to myself. At first I thought, “Why, oh why am I single in this paradise?” And then I quickly recovered and it dawned on me, “Wow, I AM single in this paradise, and I can create my own experiences on my own on this island. How exciting!” That, and the thought that I’ll have an excuse to return to El Nido with a boyfriend or husband instantly brightened me up, too.

3. I can party. Hard. I feel like a young woman again, with boundless energy to party and drink all night, then come to work all sober and ready to kick ass the next day–or a few hours later. My liver sometimes needs a break (okay, it seriously needs a break), but the freedom of not having to answer to anyone or have someone bugging me not to drink too much or not stay out too late is something I immensely enjoy.

4. I can wear what I want. Once upon a time when I worked in a women’s magazine known for teaching women how to be even better in bed, I had to attend these wild parties highlighted by half-naked male models and celebrities. Of course, we had to dress accordingly: that is, sexy. And even before I joined that publication, I’ve always been known for being comfortable in my own skin and wearing skin-tight outfits, plunging necklines, and really short hemlines. “If you’ve got it, flaunt it” has always been my fashion motto. I don’t always get to practice that in a relationship, when a boyfriend would raise an eyebrow at what I’m wearing, and demand that I pull my neckline up or my hemline down.

5. It’s so much easier to lose weight and maintain the figure I want. I love to eat, and that’s something I get to truly indulge in a relationship. Outside of a relationship–without regular dates and nights in pigging out–I get to control my eating more. No one’s breathing down my neck to eat more or at all. I can eat what I want (less carbs and absolutely no rice), in the amount that I want (smaller portions), where I want, whenever I want (just when I’m hungry). More importantly, I have more time to work out, especially since yoga–a solitary workout–is my preferred fitness activity.

6. I basically have more time for myself. All those times I would normally spend with a boyfriend have been redistributed to reading, working out, blogging, sleeping, resting, shopping, traveling, and basically just pampering and loving myself more.

7. I get to meet lots of new people, expand my network, and have the time to spend with all my friends, old and new. I spent the last year engaging in activities that allowed me to meet more new people, and it has truly enriched my life. I didn’t get to do that as much when my weekends were spent with a boyfriend, considering I’m not even one of those people you never see when coupled up. I just really made the conscious effort to meet more people and spend time with all of them.

8. I get to assert my independence and really just enjoy doing everything on my own. It’s so nice to have someone to depend on to do little favors for us, or go with us on errands and other things we’d rather not do alone. But, it’s liberating to not need this someone and just fearlessly do anything and everything alone. All decisions and choices I make are mine, and mine alone.

9. Dating. Last year, I opened myself up to being set up by friends, and it was so much fun! Although none of these dates progressed to anything romantic, I got to experience myself with higher self-awareness on dates, and I now have more new friends! It’s win-win–and I intend to continue doing this in 2014! Zodiac readings say it’s a lucky year for love after all, haha!

I’m not saying I don’t get to enjoy these things in a relationship, per se, but I do enjoy it more as a single woman. I just choose to be happy in the status I have, and now, it’s single.

Now, if I can find a guy who can let me enjoy all these things (minus dating other guys, of course) while in a relationship, then I may just have found my perfect match!