Single’s Awareness Day, or as most of society calls it Valentine’s Day, is upon us! So what are your plans to celebrate it? Perhaps a date with Mr. Pinot Grigio that involves several heart-shaped boxes of chocolates and Channing Tatum stripping on your flat screen TV?
Or how about cuddling with a couple of your cats while crying your eyes out from watching the scene in The Notebook where Noah says to Allie, “So it’s not gonna be easy. It’s gonna be really hard. We’re gonna have to work at this every day, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, you and me, every day.” Sounds like a good time, right? Yeah, I didn’t think so either.
So how about finding the true meaning of being single and do something spontaneous or exciting that doesn’t involve you sitting in fat pants, pigging out on “Be Mine” heart-shaped sugar candies while having your own personal self-pity party on this Hallmark-invented holiday? And let’s be real, just because you’re single doesn’t mean you’re alone.
Alma Gomez, a freshman at the University of Tampa, has a few ideas that she’s contemplating for Valentine’s Day, all of which involve hanging out with her friends. “I want to go to the beach and have an awesome photo shoot!” said Gomez. Her fun wouldn’t stop there though. She hopes to celebrate her single status all night long. “After the beach, we would get super dressed up and [look] hot and go dancing all night long and then pass out in one of our rooms.”
If it’s too cold for the beach, Gomez has a backup plan. “I’d plan a scavenger hunt with my friends,” said Gomez. “It would be so cool to find things that are all around the city of Tampa.”
Arielle Speert, a sophomore and new media production major, also has beach on her brain.
“I’d spend the day getting a tan,” said Speert. “[Valentine’s Day] might be meant for couples to celebrate their love, but for everyone who is single, it’s a time to focus on you and to just relax and get away from everything.”
Sometimes getting away or enjoying the little things in life is what someone needs to remember that being single isn’t the end of the world. Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse to get a mani-pedi or even a massage by some muscular hunk with hands only a god could have. If that’s not how you like to pamper yourself, then “spoil yourself with friends and go out to dinner,” as Liza Turill, a junior and English major, said.
Tori Pavel, a freshman and graphic design major, also wouldn’t mind spending her Valentine’s Day having dinner with her friends. “Somewhere fancy though,” said Pavel. “I would get super dressed up and then maybe midnight bowling.” Kathy Guvercin, a junior and psychology major, thinks dressing up and enjoying a night out with her girlfriends is a perfect way to celebrate the holiday.
“Guys are extra willing to buy drinks for hot girls on Valentine’s Day,” said Guvercin.
If going out and hitting the town isn’t for you, staying in isn’t necessarily a bad thing either. “While I was abroad [in England], my single housemates and other separated folk went out for ice cream,” said Rachael McLain, a senior and a government and world affairs major. “We attempted archery and cooked a nice healthy dinner together before launching a comedy film and TV night.” Watching movies on Valentine’s Day has its perks. “I know girls that watch horror movies instead of romantic movies and [they] imagine their ex-boyfriends being the victims,” said Guvercin. And there are plenty of movies coming out just in time for Valentine’s Day to choose from. “I’m going to see Safe Haven with my roomies,” said Laura Villalobos, a junior and communications major at UT. If chick flicks aren’t your thing,
“[The] new Die Hard movie comes out on Valentine’s Day,” said Will Roche, a junior and philosophy major.
If worse comes to worst and you just can’t handle Valentine’s Day, there’s always one final option. “Just treat it like any other day,” said Laura Howe, a junior and a writing and advertisement and public relations major. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, especially since it’s on a Thursday this year. Honestly, who goes out on a Thursday? (Besides those enjoying their weekly $1 beers at MacDintons.) And it’s better than wallowing in your self-pity for being single, as fun as that sounds. Take some pride in your single status!
Sex and the City once said, “Being single USED to mean that nobody wanted you. Now it means you’re pretty, sexy, and you’re taking your time deciding how YOU want your life to be and who YOU want to spend it with.” So instead of throwing on your pajamas and throwing in the towel for not having a valentine, rejoice in being the beautiful, sexy single that you are.