Surviving the Holidays Single

by Rukiya Symister, M.A.

​It’s the closing of 2022, a time when we may find ourselves reflecting on that “New Year, New Me” motto from the beginning of the year. It’s Friday night, and you start scrolling through your photo gallery to reminisce. However, after scrolling down a memory lane of bad camera angles and selfies, we stumble across that picture that stops us in our tracks. Yes, that picture of you, smiling with the person you thought would go the distance. Now the disappointment and sadness sets in of having to spend another year realizing that it wasn’t a “New Year, New Me” of being a plus one, and having the dreaded conversation at the holiday table about still being single.

Alternatively, being single during the holidays doesn’t have to be the end of the world. It can be difficult to feel like everyone around you is in a relationship, especially when Instagram is filled with birth and engagement announcements (and not with posts celebrating that person who finally dared to leave that toxic relationship). The holiday season can be a time to commemorate that commitment to yourself of not putting your worth and validation into being in a relationship. Instead, make this holiday season a time of cherishing the loved ones who love us on our best days and even more on our worst days. Use this time to create the best version of yourself, which means you loving yourself this holiday season. Create lasting memories of ice skating at Rockefeller Center or walking around Bryant Park to get a hot chocolate with your best friend. There is still time before New Year’s Eve, so go out and embrace the rest of the days of this year. Maybe this year, after all, is your “New Year, New Me,” of staying connected and leaning into celebrating the love that has surrounded you all year round. 

​Go out there and find the love within. I am rooting for you!!!

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