When I was at school, a friend once pointed to a junior and went “Even that kid in Year 6 is dating someone but you aren’t.”

I didn’t tell her that only seeing a person during assemblies and getting to send them one text every weekend when their mom wasn’t looking wasn’t exactly something I wanted. It didn’t make sense to me -- but it didn’t need to.

The pressure to be or not to be in a relationship is real. Winter is almost here and a new person on your friendlist will get married every time you gulp down an overfilled cup of cough syrup.

A friend has already taken a hiatus from social media in a desperate attempt to avoid this frenzy, and now occasionally tries texting me from her number. Another tried making a pact to not talk about weddings and couples at all this season, but went back on her words soon enough to dive into a detailed analysis of the clothing of the next bride she saw on her feed.

I wonder when the relationship enthusiasts from middle school will get married.

-- Mrittika Anan Rahman, Sub-editor, SHOUT