Rum and Reflections

A few weeks ago a work colleague was telling me another story about her husband and children. At the end of her story, and probably in response to my blank expression, she asked "so, do you have someone or...?". I didn't know what to reply - "no, I don't have anyone..." didn't quite seem right. The dynamic of the conversation between this younger colleague with fully-fledged mother and wife status and my single-self seemed strange and uncomfortable and I felt almost as if I was looked upon with pity. It got me thinking, why is being single seen as some kind of fault? Why is 'having someone' considered the ultimate achievement? Why do we prioritise romantic relationships above all other relationships in our life?  This conversation hit particularly hard considering that a few months prior, I saw in the new year in Ghana. As champagne bottles popped and I watched fireworks exploding in the sky above me, my hand firmly enclosed in someone elses, I t...