Opinion
Being single on Valentine's Day: No big deal
February 11, 2015
As I’m sure everyone is aware, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and if you’re in a relationship, that means planning upon planning for the perfect evening: an evening of romance, flowers, chocolates, stuffed animals, the works.
But, if you’re single, you may be dreading this day like a plague. Because let’s face it, for single people, Valentine’s Day is just another day reminding you that nobody loves you…you know, in a romantic way.
On Valentine’s Day, single people all over have to deal with nauseating declarations of love that’s not toward them, Facebook posts about people you graduated with getting engaged, and of course, your mom calling you and trying to set you up with your weird neighbor who’s really into taxidermy but is apparently a “really nice guy."
Being single on Valentine’s Day isn’t fun for most people, but I’m here to tell you why being single on Valentine’s Day is probably the best thing ever.
First, if you’re single, there’s absolutely no pressure to do anything on this day of love. You can literally lie in your bed all day and watch Netflix and nobody cares. Your friends are all distracted by the “surprise” their boyfriend promised them later that night to wonder about what your plans are and everyone else is too blinded by love to care that it’s 4 p.m. and you’re still (or already) in your pajamas.
Sure, doing nothing on Valentine’s Day may be seen as depressing, but to me it’s an all-access pass to look and act like a total bum for a day. And isn’t that what we all want to do anyway?
Next, and this one is for both the guys and girls: being single on Valentine’s Day means no disappointment. For a lot of people, the week before Valentine’s Day means nothing but stress and anticipation. People’s expectations for Valentine’s Day have turned ridiculous ever since those with amazing boyfriends started posting everything they did for them on the internet.
For example, the giant teddy bears that I keep seeing on Twitter. You know the kind, the ones that are bigger than actual bears. Why is that a thing? I like stuffed animals and bears as much as the next girl, but that doesn’t mean I want my body to one day be found under a giant teddy bear that smothered me in my sleep.
Valentine’s Day is a day full of misguided expectations and ultimate disappointment when your partner doesn’t deliver. Who needs it? When you’re doing Valentine’s Day solo you have no expectations, and, therefore, can’t be disappointed in wherever your night leads, even if it ends with you crying at the end of “Shrek” with chocolate all over your face.
Lastly, and this is a big one, the best part of being single on Valentine’s Day is the chocolate. You can buy loads of chocolate without the teenage cashier judging you or the middle-aged cashier giving you a look of pity, and then you can binge-eat chocolate all day to make up for the fact that nobody would actually buy the chocolate for you.
Nobody will love you the way chocolate does. And if you’re like me, that’s all you really need on Valentine’s Day. Plus, your parents might send you a Valentine’s Day care package because they know that you’re lonely. Nothing says “hang in there” like your mom’s homemade Special K bars and a note from your parents saying that you’re still beautiful to them.
It’s time to face facts: we’re not in elementary school anymore. No more homemade red and pink boxes stuffed full of Valentine’s for us. We’re adults in college and sometimes that means being alone on Valentine’s Day. So you don’t have that special someone to take you out and make you feel special on Valentine’s Day, who cares?
Make yourself feel special by spending way too much money on chocolate, abusing your family’s Netflix account, and remembering that Valentine’s Day is just one day a year, and you’ll get through it.
Natalie Howell is an alumna of UW-River Falls. She was editor of the <em>Student Voice</em> during the 2016-2017 academic year.