There are 7.53 billion people in the world and you think your soulmate is at The College of New Jersey? Even with that statement being announced to you, you might still be convinced that for this cuffing season you’ll meet your soulmate while eating at Eickhoff Hall, walking across Green Lawn, or at the STUD (student center) during meal equivalency. IMG Source
In the summer when I was relaxing on the sand of Daytona Beach in Florida, being in a relationship was the last thing on my mind. Then I came back to New Jersey and as the seasons changed, so did my mindset. The fall and winter season requires a scarf around your neck and a significant other on your arm.
Your relationship status is usually tucked in the back of your mind or not present at all until cuffing season comes around. For those unfamiliar with cuffing season, it is a time of year where people enter a relationship because of the weather. Cold weather and daylight saving creates this black cloud that comes to follow you until you enter a relationship. IMG Source
Everywhere I look, I see people in relationships, going on first dates, or making a Tinder. I thought, should I jump on this crusade caused by cuffing season? For a split second, I thought about picking the pathway that I had chosen every other year: to look for a relationship so I could be complete in society’s eyes.
Then I asked myself why everyone was so focused on entering a relationship with another person when the relationship that we should focus on is the one with ourselves? For this cuffing season, I want to work on the most important relationship I have: myself. It is often said that you have to love yourself before you can love someone else. Many people disagree with this quote and believe it’s just some quote created by people who have read too many self-help books. IMG Source
Maybe it’s because I’m an optimist about life and love, but this quote tells me that if you don’t love yourself, how can you give love to others or know what love is. If you don’t love yourself when entering a relationship, are you really receiving the love you deserve? Or are you settling for love and insufficient treatment because it’s what you believe you deserve? If you don’t find love within yourself, how can you know you’re in love with someone else? This cuffing season, work on the relationship within yourself because you are the person who has and always will be with you. Don’t settle for a relationship that will be as temporary as the season that creates the pressure to enter one.