For so much of my life, I considered myself to be single. Technically, I was. But when I look back, I realize I spent the majority of my time entertaining the same type of men—just with different faces. I was never truly single because I was caught in a cycle of thinking about the men in my life instead of focusing on me. This realization was a turning point in my emotional growth. It made me see how much time and energy I had invested in people who weren’t truly invested in me, and it forced me to confront the ways I had been neglecting my own needs and dreams.…