For a long time, I thought that I wasn’t suited to the traditional "happy relationship". Individualistic to a fault, I didn’t have any desire to sacrifice myself to the needs and interests of another person. The path that follows a process of meeting, dating, committing, moving in together, marrying and having kids just wasn’t a path that I wanted to walk.

The fact that I wasn’t on the man hunt seemed to be a problem for the majority of my friends (both male and female). Sure, they read all of the latest books on relationships and would espouse rhetoric about how it was "okay" that I didn’t want a man. But invariably, they would pull me aside with a confidential tone and ask me what the problem really was.

As you may have guessed, I’m seeing someone now and it’s going quite well. However, the reason that it’s working out is because neither of us is very traditional in our approach to relationships. And that’s got me thinking - who wrote the relationship book anyway? Who says that there’s only a select few "right" ways to pursue and enjoy relationships?

It’s a wide, wide world out there. I think we’re all better off if we forge our own way through it. And if someone comes along that wants to follow that same path with us, that’s okay as well.

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