I was talking with a colleague who recently ended his engagement. We were contrasting our styles. He's a serial monogamist and I think he really enjoys being in relationships, whereas I'm much more the casual dater. I don't have a really extensive dating history, just a good number of flings and occasional relationships. The longest I have ever dated was about a year, and most of my relationships usually end between three and six months. Most of the time it's convenient to end because I'm focused on school or work, but if I took that excuse away, it's really because I enjoy being single and independent. I like doing what I want, when I want.
Growing up with a single mom, I learned that it's perfectly okay to be single and that you don't need a relationship in order to be loved. You can get that from friends and family and you can usually get it with much less bullshit attached.
I also realize that living where I do that there's this social pressure to get attached and involved, to make it work, and to engage in long-term relationships up to and including marriage. Hell, did you know marriage is written into human development? That at some point in your life you should have an urge to get married and to have children? (Heteronormativity, indeed.) Well, look, I don't buy that either. Individuals set their own terms for what's normal and acceptable in their lives, so long as you stay happy and that you're not hurting anyone else with what you're doing.
In the meantime, I'm a Ph.D. student who plans on letting this whole shebang eat up about five or six years of his life, and I refuse to be one of those guys who thinks it's so hard to find a good relationship that he resorts to dating in the department. Ugh.