I like this take on it.Xanthious said:Then I must be a sick sick individual. I can promise I'm nowhere near depressed and I wouldn't take on a girlfriend if you held me at gunpoint. I live in a 2 bedroom apt with a spectacular loft that's decorated how I want it. I am free to come and go and do whatever the hell I want whenever the hell I want. I have complete control over my finances. When I decided I wanted long term companionship I went and got a dog.
The most miserable people I know are in relationships/married. These are people that would cut off any one of their appendages to live like I do for a day or two. These poor bastards have the same soul sucking routine day in and day out and scrape by in a job they hate only to come home to a wife/girlfriend they'd like to submerge in water until the bubbles stop. A few are trapped by the threat of losing half their stuff while others are trapped by the threat of a hefty child support payment. Bottom line they are trapped.
Don't get me wrong I'm not living like a monk by any means. I have a handful of female friends and one in particular shares my point of view on the matter of commitment. Over the years we've established what you could call a mutually beneficial arrangement. That being said we are miles away from exchanging gifts on Valentines Day and our commitment to each other is taken on a night by night basis.
Relationships might be awesome for some people. Others though, like myself, shouldn't enter into one and expect to be happy. The bottom line is you need to know what kind of person you are. I value my freedom over every aspect of my life far too much to bring in another person. Some people are looking to share their lives. Different strokes for different folks I guess.
Besides, we're 7 billion people on earth. Pretty sure we don't need more.