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January: the Official Breakup Month
By Brittany Crawford, Staff Writer
Valentine's Day is the day when two people express
their love for each other, typically by sending cards and giving
gifts. So if February is considered the month for love, why is it
that so many couples break up in January - the month before
Valentine's Day? Dubbed the "official breakup month", twice as many
breakups happen in January than in any other month of the year. Not
only is January one of the coldest and dreariest months of the year,
but it's also the month in which six out of then couples will break
up. Senior Rebecca Rickard said “A lot of my friends have broken up
with their boyfriends and girlfriends in January.”
This trend is epitomized in Hollywood, with such
celebrity couples as Hilary Swank and Chad Lowe, Reese Witherspoon
and Ryan Philippe, Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake, Jennifer
Aniston and Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, and Jennifer
Lopez and Ben Affleck all splitting up in the month of January.
Junior Breanna Reessaid “I find it weird how so many couples break
up in the month of January.”
So why do we follow this pattern of January breakups? Do
we stay in relationships simply because we don't want to be dateless
over the holidays? Or are we too concerned about our significant
other's feelings that we just don't want to ruin the holiday season
by breaking up with them? Or are we just THAT cheap and we're trying
to avoid buying presents for someone on Valentine's Day? The truth
is, we're all worried about spending the holidays alone. Some
singles simply want to secure a New Year's Eve date but don't want
to stick around until Valentine's Day. The Valentine's pressure is
so great to some people, that a third of single guys avoid being in
a relationship between Thanksgiving and February-just to avoid it.
Senior Casey Garrett said “I’d rather avoid it altogether, because
there’s too much pressure for a perfect Valentine’s Day."
So whether we're cheap, trying to protect our lover's
feelings, or we're simply looking for a fresh start to the new year,
breaking up with someone, or being broken up with, never comes at a
perfect time. However, many people choose January, after all the
holidays are over, because no one wants to be the jerk that ruined
Christmas.
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