If you're a single woman, it's highly likely that the most annoying things you encounter on a daily basis aren't bad dates or jerks hitting on you while you're on the train. Rather, it's the 'wisdom' that your friends, family and strangers on the street love to dispense when the subject of your single-dom comes up that makes you want to pull your hair out. While their intentions might be good and their hearts in the right places, there are some things that a single woman never, ever wants to hear.
1. "I'm sorry." Why, why, why are you sorry? There is no reason to pity a single woman. She's got freedom, options and the ability to go out with a different guy every night of the week if she pleases, boo-hoo!
2. "My friend so and so just had her eggs frozen...have you ever considered it?" Nothing brightens a single woman's day more than a friendly reminder that she will be lonely and childless forever. It's best to keep all talk of biological clocks and families to a minimum, simply because it's none of your business what she does with her ovaries.
3. "You'll meet him when you least expect it!" No matter how true this statement is, it's still not very encouraging to hear it over and over again when you're single, especially after a bad date. Plus, it's confusing. Are we not supposed to expect a date to go well?
4. "Why are you still single?" Why is the sky blue? Relationship status isn't something a single woman can change on her own as so much about dating is out of her control. Not to mention that maybe she is single because she wants to be, which seems to be a foreign concept to a lot of people.
5. "You're so lucky you're single." Sometimes being single doesn't feel so lucky, so when you say this to your single friend, she might wonder what your motives are. Are you being condescending? Are you trying to communicate your unhappiness in your own relationship? Or are you just trying to make her feel better about her depressing single status?
6. "You won't find someone who has everything you're looking for." Unless your single friend has a ten page list of qualities a man must possess before she'll date him, encouraging her to lower her standards won't guarantee she'll fall in love, it just means she'll go on bad dates with guys who won't make her happy.
7. "Have you tried online dating?" I'm a huge online dating supporter, but it's not a one size fix all solution. Considering it's 2013, yes she's considered online dating, and if she doesn't have a profile up it's probably for a good reason.
8. "You're just like Bridget Jones or Carrie Bradshaw!" All single women are not the same. They are not all flighty, silly, and obsessed with shoes...and real life isn't always as glamorous as it is in the movies.
9. "You should be going out every night of the week!" While it would be nice if a single woman wanted to do nothing more every night than get all dressed up and go for a night on the town to find men who want to buy her drinks, some of us have jobs and responsibilities and would rather curl up on the couch with a cup of tea and the Kardashians. Finding a boyfriend isn't her full-time job...it will happen when she least expects it, remember?
10. "I can't wait til you have a boyfriend!" This is usually said with the best of intentions, like when a friend wants to double date or take a couples trip. Just remember that she probably can't wait til she has a boyfriend, too, and puts enough pressure on herself for the both of you.