Flying solo vs. pairing up

As a single 28-year-old woman, I can well relate to Shana Ting Lipton’s spunky revulsion of the idea that someone is better than no one [“Did They Settle Down, or All Simply Settle?” Sept. 7].

I love living on my own and doing what I want, in spite of the fact that it can occasionally be lonely. I sometimes find myself looking at couples and imagining how contented they must be, but who knows what lies beneath the facade, if there indeed is a facade? At the end of the day, I don’t mind waiting for the passion of deep emotional attachment, a true compatibility and a healthy dose of lust.

LISA DELAO

Fullerton

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When viewed from the outside, this dynamic between two people may be distorted by our own values and experiences. My advice is to resist projecting one’s own balance of needs on to couples you view, and definitely resist the temptation to judge and put them down.

It’s hard enough in this culture for a couple to find support through the “thin” times (as in, “through thick and thin”). Train your eyes to be open to the positive between two people who have made a commitment to each other. Real life is subject to the mundane. A real partnership through it all is the jewel in the crown.

MARIE DAVIS

Georgetown, Calif.

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Lipton makes the process of finding a mate seem impossible. But it isn’t. When you come to that point in your life that you accept yourself for who you are, and say to yourself, “Yeah, I can live with myself, alone,” is when the magic happens. Because that’s when you bump into another who has had the same realization.

RICHARD QUINT

Yorba Linda