Bring back breaking up

In high school, I spent hours watching Sex and the City and hanging on to every detail of my older cousin’s dating stories. With each tale of summer flings, casual boyfriends and sexual misadventures, I painted a picture of what my university years would be: a time of exploration, self-discovery and chaotic dating.

Instead, every other week, my Instagram fills with friends, acquaintances and former situationships posting photos of their significant others to Taylor Swift’s “Lover.”

I’m shocked by how many people are in relationships.

While these relationships range in length, seriousness and toxicity, even the seemingly healthiest ones leave me wondering if they’re worth missing out on the experiences that come with dating around. In a world where everyone’s locked into their relationships, this is me telling you to lock out. 

Bring back breaking up. 

Earlier this year, Vogue asked if having a boyfriend was embarrassing. The article itself was more nuanced than the headline suggested — it didn’t say that society now considers relationships humiliating — but it did capture a clear shift in the tides. Women centring their lives around a man is out, and it should be. 

We don’t need to give up dating completely, but let’s stop being so serious.

Gen Z sucks at socializing and, by extension, dating. We’re terrified of approaching people, horrible at flirting and rely on our phones to compensate. It’s no surprise that when we find someone we can tolerate, we hold on tight.

Many would rather hold on to the person they’ve managed to lock down, mediocre as they may be, than face the hellish dating scene that our generation — and our city — has cultivated. 

But being single doesn’t have to be scary. Stop dating to find your soulmate, and start dating to have fun. When my roommate says a guy is coming over, my follow-up question is always, “Which one?” At 21, that’s how it should be — not spending your weekends planning your wedding. University should be filled with weird sex, interesting people and two-week flings. There will be a time to build a committed, loving relationship, but you’ll be a better partner and person once you’ve had more life experiences.

I spent the first half of university in a relationship I thought I’d spend the rest of my life in, and it took breaking up to realize what I was missing. Since then, I’ve met cool people, learned so much about myself and had experiences I never could’ve in that relationship. Take it from me: if your boyfriend annoys you two weeks, two months or even two years into your relationship, just break up. We’re too young, too sexy and too full of life to be stuck in lame relationships.

Face your fears, and dump your medium-ugly boyfriend with no ambition — you’ll be able to find at least three carbon copies of him at the bar next weekend. 

It’s tempting to think no one will ever compare to that boy from your hometown, but after some fun and self-discovery, you’ll meet someone even better — and you’ll be ready to accept it. Until that time comes, let’s bring back talking to strangers and having more sex. There’s plenty of time to be boring in your 30s.