First of all, yes. I do read Seventeen magazine. I'm not 17, obviously, but I try to read everything that has anything to do with music.

So when I ran across an advice column from Kelly Clarkson in the June/July issue out now, I had to share it.

Right from the get-go, Clarkson admits she didn't date much in high school because she had other priorities. Like musical theater, choir, student council and an after-school job.

And she read a lot, which led her to keeping a journal, which led her to start songwriting.

But when her friends all started dating, she says, "I felt like I had to try it."

"So when one of my guy friends asked me out, I figured, 'He plays football. He won't want to spend too much time together. This could work.' But it totally backfired. We started 'going out,' and he turned out to be clingy and mushy! Even though he was the nicest guy, I wasn't into it," Clarkson recalls.

She discovered she was happier on her own.

"I really think my creativity and confidence developed and flourished because I made space for it in my life," she says.

Clarkson's advice ends with this: Don't be afraid to take time to be single.

Sounds like a country song to me, no matter how far past 17 you are.