Recently (about 6 months ago) I found myself single. A five year long relationship had come to an end. We lived together and were in the process of starting to build a house, and talking about marriage. Finding myself single again after this relationship was very very weird at first. When I was in this relationship I had moved across the country because he transfered jobs. When the relationship ended that first thing I did we to move "home" to FL to be near friends and family. I am not ashamed to admit that at first I was extremely depressed. I was having trouble both sleeping and eating, but as the old cliche saying goes, time healed my pain.
I am really happy now to be single. I am casually seeing some people, but not locking myself down into a committed relationship (don't worry, anyone I am seeing is on the same page as I am). The main reason for this is that while I was in a relationship, I think I "lost" part of myself. I moved across the country for him. I didn't know anyone or have a job. I put my dreams on the backburner because this job was a really great opportunity for him. Now that I am single, I really question how happy I would have been in the long term (if we had stayed in the relationship) because I had "forgotten" some of the dreams I had had for my life. Now I am working on living out some of those dreams. I am hoping (fingers really really crossed here) that by this time next year I will be living abroad attending graduate school. I have no intension of entering into another relationship right now because I "know" in my heart that I want to leave, and it would not be fair to let myself become attached to anyone because it would only hurt us both.
I have come to some real revelations during my singledom

First, I will no longer lose who I am and forget my dreams to be with someone. Second, I will not stay with someone because I am comfortable and scared to go out into the world.
There are times when I miss the type of security (both personally and financially) I felt in a relationship. But truth be told, I am having a better time on my own then I did when I was in a relationship (for various reasons). My moving "home" has allowed me to reconnect with someone I had been extremely close friends with since we were in Kindergarten. Her friendship has really been essential to me in the last few months. Having good friends is really important to not feeling alone.
For now, I am happy with just "going out" with a guy. We both understand that we are interested in each other's company and not in some long term love affair. Currently this is working very well for me. There are definitely times when I occassionally wish it was more. When I think about how good it feels to be loved and be in love. When I remember the feeling of not being alone. Of having someone to be with on any given night or weekend. But these feelings are fleeting, and when I think about how "right" I feel my life is now, and how it is on a path to allow me to fulfill my dreams and goals, I don't allow myself to wallow in thoughts of "what if" or "what could be." I know that some day it "will be" and I am content to live my life fully until then.
Ok this post was probably much longer than need be, and am sure you could have done without hearing all about my personal sob story

but this is definitely a topic that I feel passionately about.