"I'll never get married!"

You thought it, said it, and/or heard someone else say it at some point in life. Then you found your one true love and now you don't need to say it anymore. Mazeltov!

This blog is not for you.

But perhaps you're one of those people who still think it, say it, and hear other people say it.

It grates on you every time Mom asks, "Have you found anyone...special yet?" or your friends say, "Have you met somebody yet?" or your mentors say "Have you been getting out more lately?"

You're reminded of it with every wedding invitation you receive and every bachelor party or bridal shower you attend, from people substantially younger than you, from high school classmates on their second or third wedding before you've even had your first.

You graduated college with a goal of getting married before you were 25 27 30 34 40 before you died. You haven't been too picky, you're not bad-looking, you're in good financial shape, but somehow your plans haven't shaped up the way you expected. There's no explanation, no reason, no one thing you can point to and say "If I fix this, it will all turn around." You've tried your hardest, but your efforts have only resulted in frustration and disappointment, failure after failure.

"I'll never get married!" you cry.

You have every right to be angry. Life isn't fair. Slowly but surely, the mounting pressure of time, the noise from those you love, and your inability to deliver are leading you down into the bottomless abyss of defeatism, hopelessness, despair, and bitterness. Slowly but surely.

If you're one of those people, then this blog IS for you.

How do you deal with a single life that goes on and on and on and on and on and on without shutting yourself into a cave of your own design? How do you keep the faith when you've been missing every shot, striking out every at bat, dropping every pass, shanking every kick? How do you avoid succumbing to what appears to be the inevitable conclusion that love is not for you? Good for others, but not you.

That's what this blog is for — strategies for coping with a single life that goes on forever. It isn't from a self-help book, a sex therapist, a matchmaking service, or a counselor that's been happily married for 50 years. It won't tell you how to make yourself more attractive or what you must do to find the love of your life. It's simply relating experiences that work in forming an attitude and perspective that will help you survive each day you go without a special someone in your life. It defies conventional wisdom in some places, affirms it in others. Some of these tips will be practical in your situation; some won't be. Only you know what you can apply and what you can't.

Full disclosure: I am a heterosexual male in his 30s who has never been in a serious romantic relationship, married or otherwise. Thus, my views will undoubtedly be biased by this background and may not exactly fit the psyche of those who fall out of these categories. However, at some level, we are all human beings dealing with the same emotions, so I hope that will provide enough common ground to make these posts relevant to many who struggle with the eternal single life.