Cuffing season
/Falling into the cuffing season
It’s that time of the year again. Just as the leaves begin to change colours and the air becomes a bit chillier, coincidentally your bed starts to feel a lot bigger. After the novelty of the new school year wears off and September comes to an end, the panic starts to set in and people realize that they will be spending yet another winter alone. Suddenly, being back at school with all of their closest friends doesn’t provide enough satisfaction and they begin to think of the long winter months ahead. Instead of craving the instant gratification that comes from a one-night stand, they start to ‘shack up’ with the first single and semi-attractive person they can find, hoping that said person sticks around for a bit longer than the last. This term has come to be defined as cuffing season.
According to Urban Dictionary, “cuffing season” is described as the time during the fall and winter months when “people who would normally rather be single or promiscuous find themselves along with the rest of the world desiring to be 'Cuffed' or tied down by a serious relationship.” Their reasoning behind this is that, “the cold weather and prolonged indoor activity causes singles to become lonely and desperate to be cuffed."
Many people, especially those from the older generations, would say that this is just another stereotypical millennial quirk, but are we really the only ones at fault for this trend? It is true that millennials do things a bit differently than the previous generations when it comes to dating, but cuffing season isn’t necessarily a new trend. Just because this trend has only recently been officially named does not mean that it hasn’t always been around. It is fairly common knowledge that many people tend to get sadder during the winter months, so it is not a coincidence that this sadness leads to an overall feeling of loneliness. As a result, rather than basing our happiness primarily on ourselves, we make an effort to find happiness within another person.
Most people would agree that the holidays can either make you feel incredibly happy and full of love, or insanely lonely if you’re single. This is likely due to the endless romantic comedies that we were all exposed to growing up and their tendency to make it known that the holidays are the best time to be in love. It can be fairly easy, if not entirely unavoidable, to fall into this blatant Hollywood trap.
The harsh reality though, is that real life isn’t always like the movies. Cuffing season doesn’t always – in fact may very rarely – result in you finding your soulmate. You might not end up getting married and telling your future children the story of the night you met. This is especially true if the person you decide to set your sights on is someone you met at the Pub on Saturday night or in the Kenny’s lineup.
However, this can be a good time to find someone who you don’t entirely loathe to spend the cold, long winter months with. As long as both parties are aware that this is not a forever type of thing, you can successfully become ‘cuffed.’ There’s nothing wrong with seeking out a somewhat temporary relationship, as long as you aren’t settling for mediocrity. It’s important not to force yourself to settle for someone who’s company you don’t even enjoy, simply to avoid being alone. If you do, you might just end up getting your heart broken and feeling even lonelier than before.
