The grass is green on both sides of the fence.

I believe comedian Dane Cook said it best when he compared relationships to parties. When you don't have a relationship, it's "like a party is going on and everybody was invited but you."

As you happen to pass by the party, it starts to rain, and you're left standing cold, wet and alone on the street. At the same time, those people in the party are thinking "I wanna get outta here! I've been at this party six years. I wanna see new parties!"

Having already been in two serious "parties," which together totaled about six years of my life, I can certainly say it hasn't all been fun. Even the best relationships go through rocky stages, and, like most people, I sometimes lost touch with my friends, missed the nights out and longed for the freedom of flying solo. I had less time to spend on my family and myself. I worried when he didn't call. I was annoyed when he called too much. Planned dates and evenings out gradually settled into the practically-married routine of laidback nights on the couch in pajamas, watching some horrible movies and usually falling asleep at least twice -- complete with the occasional re-hashing of issues we had already bickered about 1,000 times. Exciting.

On the other hand, being single these last few months hasn't always been perfect either. Sappy romance movies seem to be on every television channel. The seemingly endless tirade of love songs on the radio constantly remind you that one really is "the loneliest number." Everyone you know just found his or her soulmate. Your best friend just created 16 new pet-names for the latest love of his or her life: "I love you, baby-face-sweetheart-pie... No! I love you more, foufie!" C'mon, even Flava Flav is finding "true love." Oh, and in case you forgot, you don't have a date to that formal next week. Great. And worst of all, the most dreaded day of the year, Valentines Day, is coming! Table for one, please?

After being in a relationship for a number of years, it seems practically tragic that nobody waits for you to call and recount every last minute of the horrible or amazing day you just had word for word, down to the last detail. In addition, no one will be drowning you in the completely original gifts of jewelry, chocolate and stuffed animals on Feb. 14. Even more unjust is the fact that those nights out on the town that you longed for may be overrated.

Late night after late night of squeezing into the perfect outfit, meticulously getting ready, wearing shoes that look and feel like torture devices and being approached from behind by creepy guys at frat parties isn't all that glamorous. On the rare occasion of being approached from the front, you often have to feign interest and carry on awkward conversations while attempting to signal your friends across the room, "Get me the heck out of here!"

Suddenly, cuddling up on the couch for a four-hour marathon of awful television with the old ball-and-chain doesn't look so bad. Besides, I could wear my favorite pair of sweatpants. We didn't even bother talking half of the time.

Maybe Dane Cook had a point about the "parties." From the outside, everything appears perfect on the inside. From the inside, the outside looks pretty tempting. Maybe the grass is always greener on the other side -- or maybe we all just think it is. Imagine if we could learn to enjoy where we're at and who we're with (or not with, for that matter). The grass is equally green for us all, just in different ways.

Being "taken" definitely has its perks. If you think otherwise, you haven't yet realized that single people everywhere are jealous of you. If you've found Mr. or Mrs. Right, you're set for life. If you've found Mr. or Mrs. Right Now, you're at least set for VDay. You've got a dance partner, a cheerleader, a goodnight call, a best friend, a dinner date and a movie buddy built into one. Visit them at work. Surprise them with little gifts. Make them dinner. Call them for no reason. And try not to let those annoying little habits they have get to you. You have them, too.

Single people can and should enjoy having the entire bed to themselves, wearing comfortable underwear, answering to no one, meeting new people and, most importantly, getting to know themselves. Study. Join a new club. Reconnect with friends. Flirt shamelessly. Take the money you'd spend on dates and gifts and spend it on yourself. The candy will taste just as good, and there's no chance you'll have to wear jewelry you'd really rather return.

Most of all, hold out the hope that most people in relationships can't - that there is a completely perfect person just waiting to meet you any day.

If all that fails, remember many "parties" end in hangovers, anyway.