Dating, The Hardest Part Of A Life?

I recently got told by a very good friend that, "You don't need to feel like you need a girlfriend." Now usually I would just bypass this and think it was someone trying to get into my business but I highly respect this friend so I started thinking about what they might mean when they told me this. Now I'm not trying to date her (the friend is a she) nor am I trying to actually 'date' any of her friends, so it got me thinking, "What could I have done to make her think that I need a girlfriend?" I, truthfully, had that told to me all last year, that "You don't need a girlfriend" but the thing is, I did feel like that last year, I felt like I needed one. But I realized that I didn't, that's not to say I'm not open for relationships, just that I don't constantly feel like I need one like that anymore. I realized that all "love" is, is an added bonus to life, a perk that God gave us for happiness. We all know that when you're in "love" you're so happy, so enthusiastic that nothing can stop you. You are at the top of the world, and there's nothing wrong with that. But what I think people miss, is that you can get to that peak without being in love. You can love life without being in love with someone. Now I'm not telling anybody to not try to fall in love, I'm afraid this is how it's going to come out. But it's not like that. I'm just saying that, in high school or anytime you're feeling lonely, you don't need to go out looking for love to fill that void. If a prospect comes along, by all means, try it. If you feel like someone special has come along and you always want to be with them, you could talk them for hours on end and not get bored, and you know that when you're with them you will smile every minute and have the time of your life, then please don't pass that up.
People get so accustomed to going to their significant others that they tend to forget the power of friends. And even so, you should always become great friends with the person you're interested in anyways, before you even think about dating them. You should know that the person will be there for you, protect you, care for you, and love you. If the person can't do that while you're friends, then the person can't do that while you're dating.
Now I think it's safe to say that we all like the feeling of companionship but that's not to say that anybody 'needs' a significant other. I felt like I did last year because of a, I guess you can say, "void" in my self-being because when I thought of a girlfriend, I thought of a person who you can think of and know that they "love" you or "care" for you and that's what I needed. I needed a person there to remind me that I'm cared for. But as I got more involved in NewSpring I realized that a person of the opposite sex that you can hold hands and kiss doesn't have to be the one to show you that you're "cared" for. There are plenty of people out there that would do anything for you. It took me about two years to realize this, but hey, better late than never :-P
But with that, feeling that need of "care" and "love" is not wrong in any way. You're not a bad person because you feel that way, and you're not any less of a good person either. It just means somewhere in your life you had that void. Maybe a parent let you down, or a best friend just wasn't there for you. But your friends can cover that void for you though, you don't need a girl under your arm or a guy to call you every night to feel like you're "loved". Believe me, I know