"Being single and happy," this often is a difficult state to achieve. Though, there were many moments when I enjoyed the single status. Am I single now? No, recently married. However, I have more experience in the alone boat than in the love boat. Our times of singleness and of being in a romantic relationship each have a unique impact on our lives, both containing positive and slightly less positive aspects, neither determining our worth.

On the first day of seventh grade, one teacher asked my class to answer various questions about ourselves. She promised to keep them safe for the entire year, and in eighth grade, when we ruled the school, we could see our progression. The last task on the questionnaire was to make our own personal question for our future eighth grade selves. Mine was, "Have I had my first kiss yet? Who was it with and was it good?" I pictured my long-standing crush since sixth grade, and hoped it true.

Well, eighth grade came and went, and disappointingly with no kiss. My crush had changed, but I still yearned for true love. It was ten years later when I finally received my answer. Who was the guy? My future husband. When I was proposing the question in my seventh grade class in upstate New York, he was 3500 miles away in Colorado, probably causing trouble in his own junior high. Through God's sovereignty, we ended up crossing paths at college in Virginia, dating our senior year.

Why did it take so long? I guess I tended to be the girl who had high' standards. I would rather be single than date a moron. Ouch, right. Maybe not a moron, but someone less mature, as I considered most of the teenage guys around me. I had intermittent relationships in high school, but often my determination to attain straight A's and my participation in a variety of clubs and organizations led to singleness. Then college came, and though still desiring that kiss and a relationship, I was also absorbed in school work, jobs, and socializing. Yet, certain love disappointments and depressed days brought thoughts of "I must not be pretty or funny or smart enough."

Yes, the single days brought a lot of growth. During those years, I formed certain close, dear friendships and with the alone time, I grew in my knowledge of the world around me and in my Christian faith. Singleness gave me the extra time to focus on other beautiful, significant facets of life. The duration of my singleness prepared me in many ways for my marriage. At the time, I desperately

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