Hi I’m Gwen and I have literally never had a significant other for Valentine’s Day. In fact, the last boyfriend I had was in freshman year of high school, and even then we weren’t dating on February 14th. So, I’m kind of an expert at being single on Valentine’s Day and I’m here to tell you that I love every second of it.
It’s not that I don’t want to be in another relationship, because I definitely do, but I don’t think I feel it any more on Valentine’s Day than any other random day of the year. I’m usually actually pretty excited for February 14th, but I often feel like the other single people around me are trying to dampen the day. It’s like all I see on Instagram and Facebook are uncomfortably bitter memes about Singles Awareness Day and dying alone, which only make single people feel even worse about not being in a relationship (which is not something you should feel bad about in the first place!)
I mentioned something about Valentine’s Day to my housemate the other day, and she, also single, groaned out loud. When I said that I actually like Valentine’s Day she looked at me like I was a little weird, but asked me why anyway. I had to think about it for a second, but I came up with a pretty long list. I decided this is an important thing to share, because I know plenty of people who dread this holiday when they totally shouldn’t. So, here ten reasons why I love Valentine’s Day, even though I never end it cuddling with a soft boy.
- It’s a great day to show love to everyone else in your life—your friends, your family, your pets. My parents sent me a brownie cake, and I can’t wait to share it with my friends.
- You get candy and cupcakes and cake pops anyway! Seriously! Even if you don’t have a SO giving you chocolates, chances are you’ll get some from a professor, a co-worker, a friend, or someone tabling in Case or DHall. Free candy makes any day better.
- Those really funny cheesy Valentine’s Day card memes all over Instagram.
- Putting on fun makeup! There are so many awesome Valentine’s Day makeup tutorials on Youtube that I love to test out, even though I’m not going on any dates to show it off.
- Those heart shaped temporary tattoos that we used to get in elementary school. I always hold out hope that someone will hand one of those to me again.
- Romcoms. No shame whatsoever.
- Balloons! Even if I don’t get them, I just get happy when I see them. Balloons = celebration in my mind.
- Buying something awesome for myself, like chocolates or fresh flowers or a little bit of makeup to make my day even better
- The color pink everywhere. I may be known for wearing all black all the time, but I actually love pink. It just makes me smile to see the world through rose colored glasses for a day.
- That feeling you get on every holiday, like it’s the last day of school before break or something, and your work doesn’t really matter because today is a day for fun and for love.
I know Valentine’s Day can be hard for people, especially when it makes them feel lonely, but I want to share that Valentine’s Day is a day about love, no matter who that love is directed at. Love your SO, love your family, love your friends, love your fish, love yourself, or love where you are, it doesn’t matter.