Hi there,
New season, new syllabus. The first week of September is when everyone’s pretending to be studious: fresh notebooks, new routines, a vague sense that this time we’ll keep up with the reading.
Dating deserves the same check-in. Not the fantasy list of what you want (you’ve already written that paper). This one’s about what you have. The people you’re texting. The almost-relationships hanging around from summer. The partner you’re building with.
Because cuffing season is basically enrollment. Who makes the roster depends on whether they actually show up.
Let’s get into it.
– Team Necterine
SYLLABUS WEEK FOR YOUR LOVE LIFE
Coasting is easy. Choosing is harder.
What looks promising on day one doesn’t always hold up by finals. It’s easy to coast on summer intensity or casual momentum — but September is when routines harden. If you don’t check in now, you risk sleepwalking into a semester-long situationship you didn’t sign up for.
THE RELATIONSHIP REPORT CARD
Grade what’s real, not what you’re romanticizing
Here’s the thing about relationships: we rarely fail them outright. Most hover in a hazy “okay, I guess” zone that feels passable in the moment — until you realize you’ve spent months giving out extra credit for effort that didn’t deserve it.
The Relationship Report Card isn’t about perfection. It’s about clarity. Use it to audit the connection you’re in right now — whether it’s a few weeks old, a year in, or undefined but emotionally taxing.
📌 COMMUNICATION
Is clarity part of the curriculum, or are you guessing the homework?
Do I feel understood, or do I have to repeat myself?
Do they initiate clarity, or am I always translating?
Grade: A / B / C / D / F
📌 CONSISTENCY
Do their actions match their syllabus, or is it all office hours talk?
Do their actions match their words?
Do I trust them to follow through?
Grade: A / B / C / D / F
📌 COMPATIBILITY
Are we studying the same subject, or forcing a group project that doesn’t fit?
Do our values and lives fit together, or am I contorting to fit theirs?
Is this long-term potential, or just short-term momentum?
Grade: A / B / C / D / F
📌 CARE
Is this a safe classroom, or do I feel tested every day?
Do I feel safe and supported, not just desired?
Do I like who I am when I’m with them?
Grade: A / B / C / D / F
📌 GROWTH
Do we learn together, or does conflict drop us back to remedial?
Does this connection expand me, or shrink me?
Do we repair conflict, or avoid it?
Grade: A / B / C / D / F
WHY THO?
Sliding isn’t the same as deciding
Psychologists call it “sliding versus deciding”: people drift into deeper commitments without ever consciously choosing them. Living together because the lease was cheap. Staying because the breakup talk feels harder than the relationship itself.
A report card forces you to decide. Not to punish, but to notice. To see if what you’ve built actually matches what you need.
What's your relationship GPA?
THE TAKEAWAY
Stop curving your own standards
Don’t hand out passing grades for failing effort.
Someone who texts all day but never follows through? That’s not “busy but trying.” That’s a D in consistency.
A partner who makes you laugh, supports your goals, and repairs after fights? That’s an A, even if you don’t stay forever.
Dating isn’t about scoring perfect. It’s about being honest: with yourself first, and then with them. If the grades aren’t cutting it, don’t wait until finals week to realize you’re in the wrong class.
xoxo,
Team Necterine
Dating sucks, but it doesn’t have to.
Necterine is a next-generation connection app to help you cultivate relationships.
Our mission is to redefine connection by celebrating every interaction. We provide tools and experiences that empower our users to discover themselves through the spectrum of relationships, from fleeting encounters to lifelong partnerships.
