“I am not my status”

Its much easier to talk about something when it’s about “they” and “them” than it is to say, “That’s my community talking about me” and to own it. My community, like many others, has a time-frame for when people should couple up and an age that they deem “too old” to be on your own. Being labeled as “single”, “a single”, “an older single” is something that has bothered me for a long time. I’m living my life, not waiting in a train station. I’ll get married when I meet my person and until then (afterwards too) I want to be appreciated for who I am as an individual, not my relationship status.