Having ended a two-year relationship last Summer/Fall, I was single for about 6 months before getting "seriously involved" (read: dating to the point of being "boyfriend-girlfriend"). When I first became single, it seems like I had maybe only one or two other single girlfriends, which is pretty scary to a newly single person coming off a long-term relationship. Then a month or two later, another girlfriend joined me. And a few months later, another. Insert a few new friends that I met who are single, and voila, suddenly I was once again surrounded by single girlfriends. Which brings me to a question...

Is it contagious? Like, you know how there's that urban legend/truth? that women who are around each other end up on the same cycle? Well, I'm beginning to think the same is true of being single. But why?

Here's my thought -- One girl becomes single. She initially panics because she's forgotten how to be single, doesn't know anyone else who's single, etc. Then she starts going out, meeting people. Maybe she meets a few hotties. She definitely meets a few losers that are so pathetic they become the butt of all jokes for a week or two. (i.e. John the Crier, or Zack the indian-giver). And maybe the girls in relationships begin to get jealous, or at least remember how much fun it used to be when they were single. Of course, it didn't feel "fun" at the time, but from the vantage point of a somewhat stale, very "comfortable" relationship, being single seems exciting again. The girls with boyfriends end up coming out for a "Girls' Night" or two, and suddenly, if there were nagging problems in their relationship, those problems now seem intolerable given the freedom and fun that awaits them on "the other side". Next thing you know, a few of the girls with boyfriends are suddenly "dating other people", "taking a break", or just plain "single and rebounding". Who knows if these breaks will last once the girl meets her share of losers out at the bars (many go running back once they see "the other side" close up), but point being, singleness seems to be contagious.

Until the tides shift again... any one else have thoughts on this???