Just a Thought...(2)

In many works written by female Egyptian authors one thing shines brighter than anything else: love.  The lack of love, the importance of love, unrequited love…and the endless list of love-related terms goes on an on for what seems like eternity.  Then of course there’s the classic case of the single Egyptian woman who hates her life and can’t get over the fact that she’s single…especially if she’s over the age of 30 or 25 even.  But why is that?  I strongly believe that a lot of literary works are influenced by social norms, culture and tradition…so if the literature is full to the brim with love-related issues, negative ones if associated with being single, then I can’t help but think that many of the women today must see their lives as being “incomplete” if they’re single. But why have women allowed themselves to stoop so low as to depend on men to that extent?  Sure, we’d all like to be in a stable relationship someday…but what’s the rush?  Parents already start grooming their daughters at an early age “just in case a good chance comes along.”  Well, that’s excellent—you teach your daughter how to eat in public, dress in public, speak in public…everything in public!  But how about adding onto that how she should be proud of herself, how she should enjoy her life no matter what happens and, above all, how she should love herself?  Over the years I’ve met hundreds of girls who mainly complain about the same thing: “we’re single and hating it.”  But why can’t they “be single and loving it?”  Think about it…if you want to go shopping, you can …if you’d rather visit an art gallery you can do that too…if you’re trying to get an MA or a PhD…you can dive right into it!  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti-men or anti-relationships, let alone love…as a matter of fact, I’m often labeled a “hopeless romantic,” waiting for my prince charming to show up on my doorstep riding a white horse then to whisk me off to an enchanted palace where we’ll live happily ever after.  But until that happens, why the complaints?  A young, talented and beautiful woman—and believe me, you all are young, talented and beautiful in different ways—should be able to embrace being single and realize that she can have the time of her life!  No shackles, no commitments!  Eventually we’ll all settle down, but until we start hearing wedding bells, we should learn to channel our energy into more productive, useful and enjoyable things while we have the time…because you never know, you might meet your Mr. Perfect tomorrow, and yes, you’ll have an amazing life together…but while you’re single, you could have an incredible one too.