Asking for a Friend: Spending Valentine’s Day Alone

By Dulce Martinez

Staff Writer

Whether you love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day is upon us: a whole day dedicated to showing our love and affection to our significant others.

Cute romantic dates. An enormous bouquet of red roses. A heart-shaped box of Ferrero Rocher (or your favorite chocolate). A gigantic teddy bear. The cheesy Valentine’s Day gift baskets. The heartfelt messages exchanged throughout the day. How romantic!

For everyone else who is single, Valentine’s Day is simply another painful reminder of their apparent loneliness. Whether it be a recent breakup, a failed talking-stage or a “relationship” that went absolutely nowhere, it’s understandable for a single person to experience all sorts of negative feelings throughout the day.

Especially with Valentine’s Day being a commercialized holiday, it’s ultimately inevitable for a single person to come across these reminders. This means single people have a valid excuse to sulk around and consciously attempt to avoid the romance this Valentine’s Day… right?

Wrong. Don’t even think about spending all day eating that tub of your favorite ice cream. Tempting? Yes. While Valentine’s Day is a holiday centered around romantic relationships, there are still other ways for single people to enjoy the day. Here are some tips on how to power through the holiday.

CALL IT A SELF-CARE DAY. The most important relationship that you hold is with yourself. Especially on a day like Valentine’s Day, you should make more effort in taking care of yourself. Take advantage of the day to do your favorite self-care routine. Meditate. Hydrate yourself. Perform that long skincare routine while watching your favorite Netflix show. Take a warm bubble bath. You name it––this is the day where you prioritize YOURSELF above everyone else!
GIVE YOUR FRIENDS SOME VALENTINE’S DAY-RELATED GIFTS. Who said Valentine’s Day only pertained to couples? Friends need love and appreciation too! Show some gratitude for your friends by giving them Valentine’s Day-related goodies. On a budget? You can create the cutest gift basket using items from the dollar store, full of your friends’ favorite items. Your friends will greatly appreciate this small, yet meaningful token of appreciation––which is worth more than anything else.
PERFORM A RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS. Nothing is more meaningful than performing a random act of kindness during the day. Go create Valentine’s Day-themed goody bags for a VA hospital. Purchase meals for the homeless. Volunteer at a local animal shelter. While you may feel lonely during this holiday, you can dedicate yourself to helping others. A stranger’s random act of kindness will instantly brighten up their days, and leave your heart content from the fact that you made someone else smile.
SPEND THE DAY OFF SOCIAL MEDIA. If you’re someone who gets anxious (or even jealous) from watching the countless couples posts on social media, take a break from that phone. Spend the day outdoors or doing the activities you love. No matter what, just don’t scroll through social media. The more you focus your energy on Valentine’s Day-themed posts on social media, you are doing more harm than good to yourself.
REMEMBER YOU COME FIRST. This may sound cliche, but self-love IS the best love. Go embrace yourself this holiday. You also deserve to be appreciated. Remember all the accomplishments you made from the last year, and how far you’ve come along.
BONUS: BUY YOURSELF CANDY THE DAY AFTER. You heard me right. Go crazy with Valentine’s Day-themed candy the day after! Besides, you’re totally getting a good discount on the leftover candies that other people had to pay FULL price. That’s just more money saved in your wallet!

Don’t be too hard on yourself this holiday. Go embrace that independence you have while you still can! Take advantage to explore your passions and hobbies. The things that you love and bring you joy. This is all about YOU.

Single or not, there is ALWAYS a neat way to spend Valentine’s Day!

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