You might not realize it, but Valentine’s Day is officially here. Okay, you have realized it because Cross Court, CVS and Walmart have an abundance of chocolates, hearts and teddy bears, and are smeared in red and pink. Did you know that you could buy a three-pound Hershey’s chocolate heart for only $20? I do, precisely because I creepily checked out the Valentine’s section at Kroger – solo – and thought about the gifts I would buy myself. That’s right – which of these gifts I would buy for myself. Then I thought, “Being single is awesome!” and I wrote down why:
More Time for Friends
Be in a relationship with your closest pals. I would miss my friends so much if I felt obligated by a relationship to spend 24/7 with my boyfriend instead of my roommates and friends. One-on-one time eventually gets lonely and boring. As a single college-age female with no romantic obligations, I can spend as much or as little time with my friends as I want.
No Fights
You know that one couple that fights all the time and the two are always miserable and seem to hate each other? Is it worth it? I for one like the sound of my own voice so I don’t plan on losing it anytime soon in a screaming match with my BF. I also enjoy not having to worry about saying something to upset my boyfriend because he may or may not like what I said. No censorship, no walking on eggshells, just non-filtered talking all the time.
Freedom
Remember at the end of Braveheartwhen Mel Gibson screams “FREEDOM!” at the top of his lungs? He didn’t yell because he was a Scottish rebel seeking independence from Britain, he was happy because he wasn’t tied down in a relationship! (Okay, so I’ve never seen the movie so I don’t know if Mel had a love interest or not, but for story sake let’s say he was single and ready to mingle… well, except that he was literally tied down and got his head cut off).
Bad example? The point is, when you’re single you have the freedom to grow, change and learn about yourself without the restrictions of a relationship. I think Julia*, a senior, put it best: “I can do whatever I want.”
That’s right, Julia! You have the freedom to flirt and meet new people and stay up all night watching movies and go home whenever you want. I’m not saying that being in a relationship means that you literally cannot do anything you want – but being single means you do everything for yourself. I love being my own best friend and not having to sacrifice “me time” to make dinner for my boy or wake up super early to walk home from his apartment so I can shower and get ready for class.
Hairy Legs
You think I’m joking, but I’m not. Do you know terrible it is to shave your legs in the winter? They get dry and it’s not pretty. If you’re dating a boy, you might feel obligated to shave your legs a few times a week so he doesn’t get grossed out. Well, guess what? I haven’t shaved in over two weeks and I. Feel. Great. (Okay, now you all are grossed out, right?) The point is not about hairy legs. The point is I don’t have to do certain things to impress my boyfriend – I only need to impress myself! And I’m not disappointed whatsoever that I probably won’t shave until after Valentine’s Day.
So, Singles! No more groaning because you don’t have any one to share this Hallmark holiday with. Grab a glass of wine and a bag of kisses, curl up in bed with your BFF and watch a horror film. Go to Ping and get a workout in while your friends are stuffing their faces at Stephen’s or Casa. It’s time to embrace the single and love being in a relationship with you.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Ohio U chapter.