I applaud you for not settling. I think a lot of people see dating as just another step of the process. Personally, I’m not ready to take away from my work and relationships with friends and family to be with someone “because I’m bored” or because “it’s the next logical step” (People have told me that both of those are reasons for starting a relationship.) It’s not being picky it’s having priorities in a different order. I’m not knocking people who do have a loving relationship and a great career- that’s awesome and I wish you the best of luck, but not everyone has found someone who’s worth all the time and effort.

Like you said, you’ll know when you find someone worthy of your time and it’ll be worth the wait when you do.

I applaud you for not settling. I think a lot of people see dating as just another step of the process. Personally, I’m not ready to take away from my work and relationships with friends and family to be with someone “because I’m bored” or because “it’s the next logical step” (People have told me that both of those are reasons for starting a relationship.) It’s not being picky it’s having priorities in a different order. I’m not knocking people who do have a loving relationship and a great career- that’s awesome and I wish you the best of luck, but not everyone has found someone who’s worth all the time and effort.

Like you said, you’ll know when you find someone worthy of your time and it’ll be worth the wait when you do.

I absolutely LOVE this post. I admire you so much for being so honest and open about this because I feel the exact same way as you! When I was in college (even though I was incredibly busy w/ PR internships, social life, etc. etc. etc.) I still always seemed to have a boyfriend. But after graduating, I entered the agency world knowing that it was the best way for me to become an awesome PR pro. Working at an agency was a perfect fit for me because (as you know) it’s an environment where you are surrounded by other extremely passionate, driven, cut-throat, stay-up-all-night-until-the-work’s-done marketers and their energy fuels you to work even harder. But those long and stressful 70-hour weeks, combined with the additional time you spend reading blogs/industry news and trying to have some sort of a social life, doesn’t really leave much room for a relationship. Hence, I’ve been basically single for two years.

I’ve started talking to so many guys who just don’t get it. You always hear, “You work too much, can’t it just wait until tomorrow?” And I’m like, “Are you freaking kidding me?! Absolutely not!” I’ve always been a go-getter, just like you. I believe we have to make sacrifices now in order to achieve what is really important to us. There’s always those girls (or guys) who put all their eggs into a relationship, lose themselves, their friends and/or their goals, and then once the relationship ends they feel like they’ve wasted all their time and are consumed with regret. I think it would be the worst feeling in the world to have missed opportunities to advance my career over a guy that didn’t end up working out. Am I open to a relationship if something amazing knocks me upside the head? Hell to the yeah. But it would have to be with a person who supplements my life and values my drive and the things I want to accomplish in my career. More than likely, they’ll want that from a girl, too.

Thanks for sparking this conversation. I look forward to joining you on your journey through boys/career, etc. It’s going to be exciting!!

You owe it to your self.

I think it's smart to not sacrifice your career for a guy. The right guy is going to work really hard to fit into your life anyway, and the career vs. guy issue won't be an issue when you find him. I like the most recent guest post on Grace Boyle's blog: http://smallhandsbigideas.com/guest-blog-post/f...

Guys who really want a relationship will work to get it. Having a couple barriers is a good way to weed through the duds

Side note – didn't know that your parents were disappointed, was it because you just up and left and made the leap to Chicago?

Mr. Right is going to have one hell of a day when he meets me. That's all I know.