I honestly never knew what cuffing season was until I came to college. For those of you who were late to the game like I was, “cuffing season” refers to the time in the year when it starts getting colder outside and the people who typically rather be single or are single start to feel like they want to be in a relationship or want to have someone that they can do cute couple like things with.

This idea in it of itself makes me incredibly annoyed ay my core. Why you ask? Because nowadays it feels like we constantly have to make someone feel left out no matter what topic we are talking about. Instead of just embracing the colder weather and looking forward to the holidays, we, as a society, have decided to make those who are single feel bad about themselves.

There is already so much societal pressure in our world to be in a relationship because it seems that loving yourself and being happy with just you are simply not enough for the world. And I get it. For the longest time, relationships are tied to the idea of marriage and marriage is linked to the ability to start a family and continue the lineage of your family, etc. and those are all really important parts of life. However, I do take issue with the idea that people who may not be at that part of their life yet have to feel bad because they are just living their life?

It may sound hypocritical from someone like me because I am in a relationship, but I genuinely feel for my single girlfriends who are constantly told that they need to be a relationship to be complete or happy. Or are told that the fact that they do not have a boyfriend/girlfriend somehow makes them “behind” in life.

I completely get that “cuffing season” in it of itself is not that big of a craze. But if we really think about it, trends like this continue to perpetuate this cultural norm that the end goal of everyone in life is to have a partner and that if you don’t your life is somehow significantly less happy. Further, trends like these cause people who really aren’t ready to be in a relationship, jump into one and causes them a lot of future problems because instead of prioritizing meeting someone nice, their goal is to be in a relationship.

Overall, I hope that if you are reading this and feeling the pressure of being in a relationship or you have friends who are in this phase, you are reminded that trends like “cuffing season” are just another relationship trend that exists in our society that for all intents and purposes should be ignored. Don’t feel pressure to do things in life just because you feel like other people are doing it. Do what is best for you and what makes you the happiest because in the end that is the most important!