Most people’s favorite season comes from the narrow selection of winter, spring, summer, and fall. However, there is a fifth season most people forget to include – cuffing season. Ah yes, cuffing season. The months of November through February have been affectionately assigned this moniker because it’s like the minute the clock strikes 12:00 on November 1, the entire millennial population searches for a companion to Netflix and chill with from Thanksgiving until Valentine’s Day. Why this phenomenon exists is simply because humans crave other humans, especially during the holiday season because who wants to be alone, right? In theory, this whole idea of cuffing season seems great, except for when you aren’t being cuffed. Seeing people being happy together for some reason used to fill me with the fury of a thousand suns. Like, how dare you hold hands in public? Some nerve you have giving your girlfriend a cute peck on the cheek. Get a room people, there are kids out here.

Hearing about my friends’ cute encounters with their significant others felt like a chore, and I found disgust in one of the most beautiful things life has to offer – love. Bearing witness to the joy of others made me so envious that I woke up one day and I swear, my face was slightly tinted green. The incessant loneliness and constant exposure to couples simply being couples gave rise to a toxic internal monologue. “Am I not deserving of love? Am I just not pretty enough? Maybe I’m completely and utterly ‘undateable.’ Better get rid of my cat allergy because looks like I’m going to end up like an old cat lady forever!” End scene. However, bitterness is not the answer. Why should I find negativity in the happiness of others? Love is something that should be celebrated, not viewed with disdain.

Being subjected to the exchange of love and affection of other people made me think the unthinkable, “why not just date myself? No one can treat me better than me, right? Why should I sit around and wait for someone to cuff me when I can just cuff myself?” I began to spend quality time alone with my thoughts, getting to know myself better. If you think being single during cuffing season is the literal worst thing ever aside from running out of potato chips, think again. Instead of not being able to bear the thought of being alone, perhaps embrace the solitude and think of it as an opportunity to learn to appreciate yourself, to learn that you don’t need a man (or woman) to shower you with affection in order to validate your existence. Only you, and you alone, can do that. So, to all my single ladies (and dudes) out there, let’s do away with the self-pity and bring it with the self-love. We’re all worth it.