How to Survive Valentine’s Day (Without a Date)

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(Image via Etsy)

Tabitha Fitzgerald, Writer

As we all know and dread, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. If you’re in a relationship, Valentine’s Day can be a fun way to celebrate your romantic partner and express your love! However, for anybody not currently in a relationship, Valentine’s Day may make you feel excluded, as our society tends to send the message that being in a romantic relationship is a must. In the end, however, Valentine’s Day is for everyone, and with a few simple steps, you can always survive it!

The first step to surviving Valentine’s Day is purchasing a gas mask! A good gas mask can substantially improve your ability to breathe through the cloud of heavy perfume and Axe Body Spray that hovers throughout the halls each year (You can find a few good options here: Amazon.com). The real first step is simply to practice some self-love! Loving yourself is a pretty important step to surviving, you have to put your oxygen mask on before you help others put on theirs! Basically, if you don’t take care of and love yourself first, you won’t be able to; a) survive Valentine’s Day, and b) love others! 

Now that we’ve established self-love is a must, let’s go over just how to practice self-love, and in turn, survive Valentine’s Day. Well, try taking Valentine’s Day for yourself this year. Spend some time appreciating what makes you, you. Go for a walk in the park, buy yourself some chocolates and a new stuffed animal, or take yourself on a date at a nice restaurant.

If you’re not feeling the love in taking an entire day for yourself, that’s okay too! There are plenty of other options! One quick, easy, and cheap option is to simply write yourself a few love letters! What I mean by this is to simply set aside a pretty box, and every day up until Valentine’s Day write yourself a love letter describing why you’re amazing and put it in the box! Then, when Valentine’s Day rolls around, open your box, and read all of your self-love letters! You could even keep your self-love letter box for multiple years and have a constant reminder of how perfect you are! If you would like some more easy ideas, check out this list made by Jessie Hays; 30 Ways To Practice Self-Love.

All in all, our culture surrounding Valentine’s Day is clearly overly focused on romantic relationships. In fact, our culture is so focused that surviving the holiday each year feels near impossible! The task of survival may always seem daunting, but you will be able to consistently make it through with just a little self care.