Valentines day, a global day for love, romance, chocolates, flowers and hearts. You tend to see couples holding hands on the sidewalk, pictures of fancy dinners filling your feed and commercials reminding you about what to get your partner. But it’s time to normalize spending time with your friends or simply being single and genuinely happy on valentines day. Social media loves to push the idea that couples in a relationship should stay quiet out of respect for people who are single, but why is someone else’s happiness stopping you from celebrating your own? So instead of treating Valentine’s day like a holiday you’re excluded from, turn it into a day made for you and engage in activities that make you feel good about yourself, whether that’s by taking yourself out or going out with friends.
One thing you can do in order to turn your frown upside down during Valentine’s Day is to plan a cozy pajama Galentines day with your friends. Which can include a movie night with your favorite people and binge watch rom coms such as “Pretty woman” which follows the story of a modern cinderella story, “The Notebook” which follows the story of decades-spanning love between the two main characters and last but not least a hollywood classic, “500 days of summer” following the story of a hopeless romantic trying to win back his ex. Make a night filled with inside jokes, laughter, snacks and the kind of love that doesn’t require a relationship status.
Another thing you can do is make a “hear me out” cake with your friends. Bake your favorite cake with your friends, print out pictures of that oddly specific celebrity crush and accompany it with hilarious explanations on why that character or person lives rent free in your mind. It’s silly, chaotic and perfect to make you forget about the bitterness you started the day with.
If you’re more of a games person, plan a casual game night with friends and play classic games like Uno, and Monopoly, and if you’re more into trying something new play games like Hues and Cues, where you tried to guess a specific color on the 480 color board using only one to two words. Anything that relieves the pressure and constant reminders of your inability to find love and the expectations that come from valentines day. Sometimes the best memories come from yelling over a card game with people that understand your heartbreak and humor.
If you’re spending the night solo, that’s just as special. Write yourself a love letter, explore your city and buy yourself beautiful flowers. Not because you were told to but because you’re appreciating the person that should matter the most to you, you.
Overall stop being bitter and sad as Valentine’s day isn’t about having a partner, it’s about connections. Connections can come in many different forms, such as friendship, love and the quiet joy of being by yourself.
