She isn’t putting her career first because she is afraid of putting herself out there. Because she thinks that a job is safer than a relationship. Because she is terrified of getting her heart broken by a boy, but her career can never hurt her.

She isn’t some sort of rom-com cliche who spends every second of her day working because she is trying to run away from something. She isn’t keeping herself busy so that she doesn’t have time to think about how empty she feels inside. She doesn’t spend extra hours in the office because she hates coming home to an empty apartment.

She works hard because she loves what she does for a living. It makes her feel successful. It makes her feel fulfilled.

She isn’t the kind of person who wishes she would win the lottery so she would never have to work again. She isn’t counting down the days until vacation or retirement.

She actually enjoys what she does. It brings her happiness.

When she wakes up in the morning, she is excited about the day in front of her. When she hangs out with her friends and they take turns complaining about their jobs, she has nothing to contribute.

Her career means everything to her. She doesn’t know what she would do without her work. It’s what makes her feel complete. It’s what makes her feel like her life has a purpose.

She doesn’t need a relationship in order to feel like she’s important, because her career already makes her feel that way. It reminds her that she has value.

Sure, she would like to find her forever person some day, but love isn’t a priority for her. She doesn’t have enough time to swipe through dating apps and go out on midnight dates. She is swamped with work. She has a tight schedule that would be hard to rearrange.

And honestly, she doesn’t care that she’s single. She is happy on her own — and that is not a lie she tells herself in order to get through the lonely nights. It is the truth, whether anyone else believes it or not.

She knows that some people judge her over her choices. But if they think that she’s missing out because she is spending too much time at work, they clearly don’t understand how passionate she is about her career. They don’t understand that her work makes her heart race. It makes her pulse jump. It makes her smile wider than any person has ever made her smile.

She is never going to feel bad about following her dreams, pursuing her passion. In her mind, that is what everyone should be doing. Everyone should be brave enough to take steps toward their goals.

She isn’t upset that she still hasn’t found her forever person, because she hasn’t been wasting her time. She has been doing something worthwhile.

Besides, she doesn’t have time to mope about her single status — because she is too busy being proud that she has made something of herself.