With the end of finals week (kind of) quickly approaching, all I can think about is going home for a well-deserved winter break. It's been such a long and stressful semester that I'm just so excited to be home... Until I remember that the holidays are just a bleak reminder that I'm very much single. Sure, it shouldn't be much different than the rest of the year, but I'm still left feeling some type of way about it – some good, some bad.
Pro: You save money on buying gifts.
Quite honestly, saving money during the holidays is a tricky thing to achieve. Once the time comes around, you convince yourself that everyone you know needs a gift – your mom, dad, sister, brother, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, classmates, professors, your favorite bartender at the Rat – literally everyone. It's just nice not having to add to that list a significant other. It's so easy to spoil a boyfriend or girlfriend until you realize you've spent nearly $300 on stuff that he or she will probably use once a year.
Con: There's no one to buy you gifts.
Let me clarify a little bit on this one. Yes, we all (hopefully) have someone who buys us a gift or two during the holidays, but gifts from a significant other is a different kind of gift-receiving. They're usually super sweet and unique; something that no one else would guess to get you because no one knows you like your boyfriend/girlfriend does. That kind of thoughtfulness can't be duplicated, no matter how hard your family may try.
Pro: You get to spend time with your family and friends.
Face it, we all have that sweet spot for our loved ones, especially when we get to see them after being away at college for so long. Personally, there's nothing I love more than curling up on the couch with my mom, marathoning Harry Potter. Being single gives us the time to catch up with our family and friends and to spend the holidays with them; nothing beats that.
Con: You don't have someone to do cute holiday things with.
This time of the year is one of the best times to have a boyfriend or girlfriend... so it would make sense to say that, if there was a time to brutally remind us that you're single, it would be the holidays. There's no one to cuddle with in front of a fireplace and drink hot chocolate, no one to build a snowman with, and no one to share a kiss with on New Year's Eve. Particularly for my fellow New York City residents, there's no one to see the Rockefeller tree with. (To resolve this, I personally photo-bomb the cute couple pics taken there. It's fun, try it.)
Pro: You have more time to yourself to relax and unwind.
After an entire semester of classes, work, and obligations, the last thing you want to do is to leave the comfort of your home. Having a boyfriend or girlfriend may require you to get up and do "couple-y" things with, such as those aforementioned. If you're single, you don't have to worry about that kind of thing. You can stay in bed for days in the same pajamas, binge-watching your favorite shows on Netflix.
Disclaimer: I am aware that you can do this with a significant other, but there's something therapeutic about doing this sort of thing by yourself. #NoShame
Con: You never hear the end of it from your family.
You love your grandma to death, but you're running out of patience trying to tell her, at every holiday party, that you still do not have a boyfriend/girlfriend. "Yes, Grandma, I understand I'm the age you were when you got married, but this is 2016. I need a little more time." Your relatives mean well, but all their questions and pushing do is remind you that you're alone. All. Alone.
The holidays are a great, warm, loving time. You get to spend time with those who have loved you all your life, and you can share a such a wonderful season with them. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year, even if you live with a lonely, sad love life... Bah, humbug.
