It’s Cuffing Season! | Aimee Han

It’s that time of the year again. Every year, in the fall, the feelings of summer sadness exit and the desperation for relationships emerges. It may be the cold weather eliciting the desire for stealing someone else’s hoodie, it may be the arrival of holidays that create a longing for someone to share those celebrations with, or it may even be due to the fact that school is back in session, and everyone’s confidence to shoot their shot has grown. Regardless of the cause, cuffing season has arrived in its timely fashion.

For those who have been living under a rock for the past couple of years, cuffing season is a tradition. Every year, ranging from the end of summer to the end of Valentine’s Day, adolescents to adults are suddenly all actively pursuing or beginning romantic relationships; this is known as “cuffing season”. Most argue that everyone feels the sudden dire need to get into these relationships, specifically so they can do couples’ costumes for Halloween, wear matching holiday pajamas for Christmas, or even so that they can receive a couple of roses for Valentine’s Day. Meanwhile, those who are “cuffed”, meaning that they are in some sort of exclusive relationship, may refute this argument by claiming that they had suddenly opened their eyes and grown interested in their said significant other. Yet to those with a more rational mind, this is just not probably the case. Summertime independence, traditionally considered the time for fleeting relationships and such, has come to a close, in which seasonal changes bring forth falling leaves and a bunch of pheromones.

In my experience, cuffing season has been more prominent this year than ever before. I have witnessed it when my friends suddenly demonstrate the courage and motivation to ask their crush out, or even when we begin to make pacts to hold each other accountable for our promises to shoot our shots. Personally, I strongly believe that this is due to the fact that we were all essentially locked up in the house for the past year and a half, extremely deprived of social interaction. So, returning to the classroom and school grounds is the equivalent of eating at Souplantation. It’s like being able to chug the chicken noodle soup over and over again. Just like we used to be able to not get enough of that chicken noodle soup, we just cannot get enough of those flirty interactions and banter. And so, just like we all have that distinct familiarity with leaving Souplantation with a full stomach and satisfied mind, young love has bloomed onto CCA’s campus in the form of multiple relationships and tons of happy hearts to go around.

Will all these happy, go-lucky couples last? Will their lingering encounters during passing period, refusing to go to class without one last hug goodbye, dwindle? That’s one secret we’ll never know, but come Valentine’s Day, we’ll know which ones are sticking around for the long haul. Despite the looming end, we might as well enjoy the moment while we can, because high school and the majority of our teenage and pheromone-infatuated decisions will be erased from history. After all, it is cuffing season; my advice to you is to make those impulsive, gut-wrenching decisions and chase after what you want because, before you know it, Valentine’s Day could arrive to throw a wrench in your parade.