For a holiday celebrating the joys of romance, Valentine’s Day certainly has quite a turbulent love-hate relationship with many people.
When Feb. 14 sneaks up on someone when their relationship status is “taken,” they scramble to make the date perfect for their sweetie, filled up with those stomach-dwelling butterflies. When they’re single or if the person their eye is on is with someone else, the day is just a reminder that they’re spending yet another sad night alone. When the person has just given up on love entirely, you’d better get out of their way, dang it.
No matter what category you’re finding yourself in this year, you can find some way to get your Cupid on this year.
“In a Relationship” or “Married”: So you’ve got your darling baby cakes? You can approach the inevitable Valentine’s Day date night in a number of ways.
A classic way to woo your significant other is the ever-so-popular “dinner and a movie” date. But since you’re reading this paper, you are likely a college student, a unique sector of the population that is seemingly eternally broke. How can you orchestrate the
perfect date night on a budget?
Pick a restaurant both of you enjoy. It doesn’t have to be somewhere that costs $20 for a bowl of noodles. As long as you both like the food (and like each other), even a Valentine’s Day date at IHOP can be memorable. Afterwards, go back to either one of your places, get some coffee, tea, hot cocoa or whatever, curl up under a blanket and watch your favorite movies.
If you’re looking for something less conventional, spend the evening doing something you and your partner both like doing. If you’re both into sports, go to the Eastern Michigan University’s Rec/IM. If you’re both into playing music, serenade each other. If you both love getting frisky, knock boots until your hearts’ content. You get the picture.
Little signs of affection are also good things to keep in mind on Valentine’s Day. Does your lady spend a lot of her time out and about? Treat her to a much-needed foot rub (preferably with lotion). Does your man love chocolate-chip bagels, buttered and toasted? Make a trip to Einstein’s and pick some up, along with a cute card and his favorite drink.
“Single”: So you’re living the single life this Valentie’s Day? No need to mope about and feel sorry for yourself—celebrate your freedom and do all the things your “taken” counterparts had to leave behind.
If you’re seeking a lover or even just a cuddle-buddy, there’s no sense in staying locked up in your dorm or apartment like a modern-day Rapunzel waiting for your dream boy (or girl) to rescue you. Let your hair down—literally—and get yourself out there.
Get together some fellow singles and take it to a club. Dance, mingle and scope out the hotties. If you don’t find anyone date-worthy, rest assured that you still had plenty of fun regardless.
If you’re not the clubbing type, get those aforementioned fellow singles together and share a night in. Have a good old-fashioned movie night complete with pizza and popcorn.
Another option is to go on an adventure to someplace you haven’t been before—a coffeehouse, a music venue, a bar or a part of campus, perhaps. Maybe the reason you haven’t met the person of your dreams is because they’ve been hanging out somewhere you
haven’t been.
Pick a place or two and spend the evening meeting new faces. Even if you leave just as single as you came, there’s a chance you’ve made new friends and had an experience you wouldn’t have had otherwise.
“Love Stinks,” “Forever Alone,” “Cat Lady in Training” and variations: You are not only single, but painfully single. You’ve probably been hurt badly in the past, so now the thought of love literally makes you sick. For the most part, we’ve all been there, and it’s certainly not a fun place to be. This is only exacerbated on Valentine’s Day: A holiday scientifically engineered to remind us of how dismal our love lives are.
This year, you need to be your own Valentine. That’s right—the person you need to show love to the most right now is yourself.
If you’re spending the evening alone, pamper yourself. Put a few drops of fragrant oil in your bath along with a few of those fancy-schmanzy flower petals, light some candles and play your favorite music. Don’t think about work, classes or how all your friends’ dates are going or how this bath would be so much sexier if so-and-so was there with you. Just relax—tonight is all about you.
Another good idea is to sit down and make an extensive list of things you like about yourself. This isn’t the time to be modest about all of your best qualities. A good way to achieve confidence in dating is to be someone other people will be begging to date, and the first step to getting there is to convince yourself of that.
The next step is to find things you want to improve on; things that will make you stand out from all the other fish in the sea.
Interesting hobbies and talents will make you irresistible. Find what you’re passionate about and start pursuing it.
Lastly, don’t skimp on the love for the people who are there for you. Send your family and close friends a message—or better yet, call them—and let them know how much they mean to you. After all, you don’t have to be in a relationship to know what love is.
