You can't PLAN these things. You have to let go of the desperation and learn to be happy by yourself. You need to be able to be happy even if you NEVER marry and NEVER have kids. If your life is devoid of any meaning without those things, that's your problem right there. It is way too much pressure for someone to know that YOUR happiness depends entirely on whether they stay with you.
Every friend I have who complains about being single seems to have some kind of strict timeline for love and family... marry by age ___, first kid by ___. They have online profiles on every dating site, speed-date, etc., and they are still single because guys can smell the desperation a mile away.
The problem with having timelines and deadlines is that life doesn't work like that. Life is full of unexpected twists and turns. I met my now husband while going through a a divorce. I wasn't LOOKING... in fact, I had "f__k off" figuratively tattooed on my forehead. I had sworn off marriage, relationships, etc., and pictured myself living with a bunch of cats. We met at a party, and two years later we got married. We were both in our mid 30s at the time.
A partner worth having is going to be attracted to someone who is able to stand on their own, who has their crap together, and who doesn't make them the center of their happiness. A partner worth having isn't going to say that they "can picture marrying you" on the third date because one ought to think long and hard before getting married. Take this from someone who married in their late 20s thinking I was doing things "the right way," only to end with a bitter divorce.
Talking marriage on the third date should be a red flag because at that time you should still be evaluating whether you want to know that person better over the next month... not the rest of your life. This is especially true when you're only in your early 20s!
Similarly, a person worth having doesn't put you at the center of their world, and isn't willing to settle for the first "Mr./Ms. Maybe" just because of fear of never finding someone else. When you date, each partner is evaluating the other person. Think about what it is you currently have to offer (and I am not talking about looks and what not... think about your life situation) to someone who would actually be worth it. If you are working on a Master's, are you likely to have to move when you finish? Will you really have the time to devote to a relationship? Can you pull your weight financially?
Please do yourself a favor and take a mental break from "dating." Stop worrying about meeting someone. Make yourself someone worth having by working on being happy on your own, and when you get there, either you will meet the right person, or it just simply won't matter anymore whether you do. Either way, you need to be happy being alone before you can be ready to make someone else happy.
