Valentine's Day is next weekend. I, like so many individuals in this world, am single. Valentine's Day doesn't rank among my least favorite days of the year (those would be Mondays in general), but I can't say that I really buy into the concept of spending one day of the year professing your love to someone, when most people I know (who are in relationships) do that constantly over every social media platform imaginable all the time always. We get it. You're in love. Cool.
Here's a guide to enjoying your Valentine's Day as a single person.
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1. Hang out with other single people
The first big important aspect is to not hang out with your couple friends. This is their big day to continue cherishing each other, and to you it's just a normal weekend. However, there is one important thing to note: Do not hang out with your friends who hate Valentine's Day because they will be grumpy all day long. Just hang out with people who are as "meh" as you are and you'll have a good time and won't be salty.
2. Stay off of social media (especially Instagram and Facebook)
Yeah, we're all addicted to the Internet. I have so many social media accounts that I use on a regular basis, however I will definitely be staying away from most of them on Valentine's Day. I'm overall just sort of "meh" on Valentine's Day, but I can't stand the influx of couple pictures and just overall hella PDA. I'm fine with minor displays of affection, but I'd rather you kept most of that in private. Also, please never have one Facebook for two people. No one's identity should be intrinsically tied to another person. You are separate people. If I see John&Jane Doe have merged their Facebook pages into one monstrosity of a page, I will scream.
Instagram and Facebook are probably the worst of it, but depending on who you follow on Twitter and Tumblr you might have the opposite problem. You could come across the Dead Sea (in terms of saltiness) from all these bitter, single people who thinks that having a significant other will miraculously fix everything in your life. Spoiler Alert: It won't.
3. Just carry on your with your life as usual
Don't ruminate over Valentine's Day, it's just another day of the week. It's also a Sunday. This means that you have zero obligation to do anything.
4. Celebrate important non-romantic relationships
"Parks and Recreation" (the perfect show that it is) popularized the idea of Galentine's Day, a day for women to celebrate their female-driven friendships and just girl power in general. I don't advocate for stealing that day (Feb. 13) but I do advocate for using Valentine's Day to celebrate the important friends that you have. Especially if some of you are single. Just get together and celebrate your platonic love.
5. Celebrate self love
I'm sort of just breaking into the idea of self-love and self-care, but I think it's important to recognize that you too are a non-perfect person who is deserving of love. You deserve to love yourself and to feel good about yourself as a person.
