ADDITIONAL DIAGNOSTIC SIGNS

Examine the following statements and indicate whether each one applies to you. If you answer yes to six or more of these statements, chances are good that you have found your tribe, a group that Utne Reader calls "a brave breed to resist the tyranny of coupledom in favor of independent self-expression." YOU:

1. Display a talent for self-reflection
2. Believe that life can be prosperous and great with or without a mate
3. Create and maintain chosen families of friends
4. Treat life as one big choose-your-own adventure; there is no single road map for adulthood
5. Are not opposed to dating, but prefer not to date for social convention
6. Would rather be alone than be in a relationship in which you have to hold back an essential part of yourself
7. Generally feel a sense of compulsion to make a mark in culture and society, to express yourself, whether through art, writing, a small business, or activism
8. Recognize the ways in which society prescribes happiness primarily through romantic love, and understand the failings of such an approach
9. Have had a taste or a glimpse of a great love relationship (or encounter), which intensifies the desire to remain open to the possibility of finding a similar experience
10. Possess a talent at deconstructing love songs equal only to your vulnerability to them