It’s the day that every person in a long-distance relationship dreads. Valentine’s Day. As one of my best friends said about being in a long-distance relationship, “Sometimes it sucks less, sometimes it sucks more. But it never stops sucking.” On Valentine’s Day, it’s safe to assume that it’s one of the more suckier days.
There’s nothing worse than being surrounded with couples who are openly expressing their love to each other, when you’re not able to see your significant other. You try to stay away from the rest of society for the day, in fear of bumping into other couples. But, you log onto your social media networks, and all you see is vomit-inducing pictures of couples and their corresponding captions, which are written more like essays saying why their significant other is the best. You can’t escape it. You feel happy for your friends that get to spend the day with your lovers, but you also feel so jealous that you don’t get to experience the same.
As someone who has been in a relationship for seven years and in a long-distance relationship for the past three years, I understand how difficult is it to be away from your favorite person during the most romantic holiday of the year. Because of this, here are a few ways to cope with Valentine’s Day when you’re not able to be with your significant other.
Set Up a Facetime Dinner Date with Your Significant Other
If you can’t have a real dinner date with them, set a time for a FaceTime dinner date. I’m not talking dinner like a slice of pizza or some Chinese takeout. Order something that you would order on a nice date out during a Valentine’s Day dinner. If you’re confused on how to get a fancier meal around campus, head over to the local Applebee’s and order yourself a steak or a pasta to-go, so you can eat when Facetiming with your S.O. This might make you feel more like you’re on a real date.
Also, prep for this Facetime date like it is a real date. Do your hair and your makeup, and wear something nice. You can talk to your S.O. beforehand so you can both agree on a dress code, or surprise them with something different from your go-to sweater and sweats outfit you usually wear when Facetiming them.
This Facetime dinner date will give both of you something to look forward to and prepare for, as if you were going on a real date. You two can even extend the date by setting up a movie and watching together. Technology makes a lot of things possible these days, even a long-distance dinner and movie date!
Plan a Girl’s Night Out
As alone as you may feel on this day, your single friends probably feel just as alone, if not more, than you do. With the President’s Day holiday canceling school and work for the day after Valentine’s Day, there’s no excuse not to treat yourself!
You can do something as lowkey as going to the movies with your friends or something as crazy as bar-hopping. Make it somewhat of a game with your friends, and point out all the cheesy couples at the places you end up in. With your friends, you are bound to have fun, especially when you’re in New York City.
It may be difficult to envision yourself going out on Valentine’s Day, but sometimes surrounding yourself with people, especially your best friends, may be the best thing for you. If your friends are down, set up a sleepover so you don’t have to go to sleep by yourself on what should have been a cuddlefest with your S.O.
Have a Productive Day
Schedule your day out hour-by-hour so you are constantly busy throughout the day. Leaving too much time to relax on this day may lead you into a slight depression.
Get to the library and spend a couple hours on homework. You’ll feel productive by the end of this library sesh, and you’ll feel less stressed throughout the remainder of the week, because of the work you were able to do on this day.
Have a good workout at the gym. Research shows that working out makes you feel better mentally and gives you more energy for the rest of the day. Not only will you be getting yourself ready for Spring Break, but it’s a good pick-me-up for what could be an otherwise unproductive day.
Do something else ambitious, whether that’s going to the grocery store and making that recipe you’ve been looking at for weeks or spending a couple hours on the internship or job search. There are so many other things you could be doing other than bingeing out on Netflix or eating yourself to death. Take advantage of this day to get a few things crossed off of your to-do list.