While all your friends that are shacked up with someone else you might be looking (not) forward to spending another year eating meals for two but spending Valentine’s Day alone doesn’t have to be a bad thing. After getting out of a long-term relationship myself, I’m looking forward to going into this cliché holiday single and let tell you why.

You Save Money: No flowers, no picking up the tab for your date, no sappy (and severely overpriced) cards to purchase and that bottle of wine is just for you. Relationships can be nice but not when you’re on a budget.
No Expectations: See a cute person across the bar (like at Shred the Ex at Houstons)? Go flirt. Or don’t. You can go out with friends or spend a relaxing night at home. When you don’t have to plan dates, you can roll with however you’re feeling.
No Food Thieves: Ever had that ex who only wanted “a couple” of fries? Yeah, say no more.
Your Needs Come First: Without a partner you’re free to focus solely on your goals, career and hobbies.
You Can Be A Hot Mess: Does your apartment look like a tornado ripped through it? When you’re single your apartment can be trashed without judgement (except by roomies or parents) and the covers are all yours.

Now that we’ve covered why being single rocks we can run through a few options on how to spend Valentine’s Day alone:

If you’re a social creature, then get out there! Whether you want to go with friends to Erotic Bingo or meet someone at Shred Your Ex, there’s events happening around Brandon to get you in the festive mood. I Love You Queerly is a place for our LGBTTQ* readers to hang out with other queer people or take their partner(s) for a nice date.

If you’re more introverted or want absolutely NOTHING to do with this expensive or overhyped holiday, you can keep it low-key. If you want to have some popcorn and watch horror movies over romance then you go, Glen Coco! It’s your day. Buy yourself something nice. Cook yourself a nice meal. Drink as much or as little as you want. Bonus: The 15th is cheap chocolate day.

There’s a lot of things that one can be sad about but single shouldn’t be top of mind (for example, if you’re not thinking about those puppies and kitties that need their furever person, I’m disappointed in you). There’s so much freedom in being single, so get out there and make the best of it!