The Value of Being Single on Valentine’s Day
By: Mallory Johnson
My name is Mallory, and I will be single on Valentine’s Day this year, once again. While Valentine’s Day is a day all about romantic love, it is also a day to celebrate self-love, platonic love, familial love, and other kinds of love that are not romantic. Valentine’s Day is also, in my opinion, quite heteronormative, so as a lesbian, it is necessary to make sure we are celebrating queer love in all its diverse forms. Being single on this day may not be ideal, but it allows you to spend more time (and money) on yourself, which is important. It also allows you to spend time with your friends; celebrate Galentine’s Day! My V-Day plans are to go out for dinner and a scary movie (Knock at the Cabin) with my two best friends, and I am very excited. I plan to eat candy, laugh, and scream with them like we always do. I do not have to pay for an expensive, romantic dinner, or stress about getting my partner the best gift. I bought my friends cute, inexpensive gifts that I know they will love. To quote the amazing Miley Cyrus, “I can buy myself flowers,” and listen to cheesy love songs and dance around my room by myself, which is something that I love doing. A benefit of being single on Valentine’s Day is that you do not have to risk your lover having super high expectations for gifts/plans/etc. You get to set your own expectations and follow through with your own plans. Always fight about what movie to watch? When you are single, you get to choose the movie night watchlist every time! I recommend cheesy chick-flicks like the appropriately titled rom com Valentine’s Day (which stars Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner, amongst many, many others). Treating yourself to candy, good food, and maybe some tasty drinks is a wonderful way to spend the day. Galentine’s Day is important because friends are important. It is vital to check in on your friends, and a great way to spend V-Day if your friends are also single or do not have other plans. Platonic love is just as wonderful as romantic love! Friends are there through thick and thin, and I am so grateful that I live so close to my two amazing friends.
Some single people may choose to go with a more “anti-Valentine’s Day” approach. According to Google, Anti-V-Day Week starts on the 15th with a “Slap Day,” and ends on the 21st with a breakup day. I do not condone slapping people or breakups just because of the day, but whatever makes you happy.
At the end of the day, self-love and self-care matters more than romantic love. Being single on Valentine’s Day is perfectly okay and normal; it is better than feeling trapped in a relationship. Make sure even if you are in a relationship that you are taking care of yourself before the semester gets too crazy busy. Happy Valentine’s Day to both single people, those in a complicated situation, and those who are in relationships!