As I scrolled through my Instagram feed on Valentine's Day last year, I was bombarded with images of couples gingerly hugging one another, screenshots of sweet text messages, and pictures of flowers and cards from loved ones. But the remaining images, however, were depressing, captioned with such phrases as "Forever alone." Messages from the mass media have compelled us to feel that having a boyfriend or girlfriend is a necessity to life that will make us content and without which we will be lonely and miserable. This, however, is a complete myth. Here is how and why to stay positive as a single person on Valentine's Day!
There is immense societal pressure put on Valentine's Day. People tend to have a sort of insecurity if they are single on this holiday. More importantly, restaurants, greeting card companies, flower shops, and department stores have caught on to this and taken advantage of it. Meticulous planning goes into Valentine's Day to make people feel that Valentine's Day is a necessity. They overwhelm customers with powerful displays that persuade people into making Valentine's Day a bigger production than it needs to, eventually luring them into spending money unnecessarily. In other words, Valentine's Day has turned into a huge marketing scheme! Why else would we suddenly feel the need to show affection for people on this particular day? This is all due to the commercialization of Valentine's Day. I encourage you not to give license to these negative messages.
And since when did Valentine's Day become all about romantic love? Instead of moping, go out with your friends or hang out with your family. You have many people that care about and love you. So stay positive and have an amazing Valentine's Day!
Here are five fun things to do on Valentine's Day:
Funny movie
Stay home and have a girls night ( do nails, order delivery and watch a chick flick)
Take your family or a big group of friends to a cool museum such as the Griffith Observatory
Comedy club
Bowling
Girls only game night (board games or buNCO) w lots of snacks- each person brings a diff snack
By Elizabeth Neoman
