Congratulations! ... on not imploding this holiday season.

Welcome to the first official post of Single In CLE!

Apparently, 23 is the official age where you can no longer log in to the FB to creep on exes and their new girlfriends (who are soooo ugly, b-t-dubbs). Because the moment you do, you will be assaulted with cheesy couple candids, preggo bellies about to pop, and worst of all: the post-engagement photo in front of the Christmas tree (followed by an Instagram-filtered close up of the ring.... probs Lo-Fi to highlight that mani because homegurl just had 'absolutely no idea' that her boo was proposing, even though she's liked every Tacori ring pic on FB for the past four months.)

This holiday season has proved to be the most annoying engagement-filled period of time that I have ever experienced. It seemed like photo after photo of happy couples captioned with "I SAID YES!!" emerged out of my newsfeed like zubats in a dark cave. It's a weird feeling. Did we reach an age that this became a norm? Will it progress with each Christmas to come? Is this just the beginning of the pairing off? Will I be one of the last few standing, like a fifth-grader getting picked for dodgeball? I mean, I get stressed out about committing to an iPhone case, let alone a relationship that's supposed to last FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.

But virtual high-fives to every one of my single ladies out there who endured every photo and faked every "OMG SO HAPPY FOR YOU GUYS!" comment. We are the true warriors this Christmas. We are the ones on the front lines, taking every awkward 'are we sure she likes boys?' innuendo that comes from our extended family. We are the ones fumbling to answer "so... any special men right now?" way too often. We are the ones playing third or fifth wheel out with friends and pretending to be totally okay with it. So to you, I raise my glass. And by glass, I mean giant bag of Reese's Pieces. I ran out of boxed wine.

Buy yourself something nice this holiday season. Think of it this way, if you were in a relationship, you'd spend that money on a significant other anyways. You just get more for your money when you spend it on yourself. Amiright?

Singly yours,
Samantha Single In CLE