Picture this: Friday finally rolls around and you are ready for a fun night with your friends. But, when you text your roommate, you find out that she’s going on a hike with her boyfriend and then to dinner. You sigh and ask your best friend if she wants to drive into Pittsburgh and find an adventure. She says sorry, she had already made plans for a double date at the Caf and then a movie night in her boyfriend’s common room. Now you text your group chat and watch text after text light up your screen with some variation of “Sorry, I’d love to hang out with you but Joe and I are doing something tonight.” Since you do not have a boyfriend and with no pressing assignment due for once, you go back to your dorm room and sit down on your bed alone. 

Colleges all across the US, with Franciscan University not being an exception, are populated by couples in all pockets of their campuses.

So how does a person handle college while single, when everyone else has a significant other? What happens when they often feel left out by friends always wanting to be with their boy/girl friend? 

While popular society often puts pressure on dating and “finding the one,” researchers and counselors encourage college-aged students to take advantage of their single state. Instead of being the person who always attaches himself to a sweetheart, it is important to spend time deepening friendships with those of the same gender.

When asked about how she handled singleness, a Franciscan student offered a valuable piece of advice: “Don’t wait to start your life just because you are single.” 

Like other unattached undergraduates, singleness provides an opportunity for self-growth. According to a BetterHelp 2026 study reviewed by Andrea Brant, LMHC, being satisfied with one’s relationship status is empowering. Singleness leaves time to pursue interests and self-care, such as hobbies, exercising, going to events and meeting people.

Another student at Franciscan commented on their state of singleness, saying: “As an introvert I like being alone, but I also feel very left out when my friends are all with their significant other and I am not.”

Unfortunately, sometimes this state of loneliness leads to unhealthy coping mechanisms, as studies show. Franciscan University students, however, are encouraged turn to holiness and the examples of the saints in the face of loneliness. This does not discount the fact that both men and women long for love but merely reminds those still searching of the value of the time in between.

Whether someone is in a relationship or single, God calls all of His children to trust Him in the journey, and to “take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart,” (Psalm 37:4).

Especially on college campuses, those who are single often experience loneliness that can seem contrasting to the happiness of those in romantic relationships. However, it is important to remember that timing, trust, and growth are essential to the journey of life. You are not perfect like the romcom protagonist. You are “perfectly and wonderfully made.”

As a student, surrounded by countless opportunities to grow both in social and spiritual aspects, take this season of love to challenge yourself to honing your strengths and replacing vices with virtues. That will look different for each person, but as Avery Laughlin, FUS psychology major, said, “College is a time to figure out who you are so that you can share yourself with someone else.”