Anyone who has ever been single during Valentine's Day (a.k.a. Single's Awareness Day or SAD for short) knows how awkward it can be. Whether or not you are happy being single or are desperately wishing for a significant other, you know that one of the worst things you will receive are the pitying looks from friends and family.
I was blissfully ignorant that I was worthy of pity on Valentine's Day all the way up till college (since I was homeschooled, it had just been a day like any other with the exception of a parental date night that would have left me in charge of the younger kids). My college campus was positively buzzing with Valentine's Day plans. One of the clubs even held a fundraiser during the season selling Crush sodas that you could send to your "crush." The girls who had dates oozed over their boyfriend's romantic plans while the singles threw pity parties in the dorm lobbies. Needless to say, pity from both the inside and outside really didn't boost the contentment factor of life.
So, this year I have decided to compile a list of hints and ideas to help keep singles self-pity free on Valentine's Day.
1. Pray. This is not just super spiritual advice that I threw in to make me seem like a good Christian girl. I'm really serious. If you have a tendency to feel sorry for yourself, pray for protection from those feelings. Also, if you have people in your life that rub your singleness in your face or make you feel inadequate, pray that God will shut their mouths. Ask God to show Himself to you in a special way on Valentine's Day. Remember that He loves you more than any person possibly could.
2. Have a "single's only" day. Get together with some of your single friends and agree before hand not to throw a pity party. Do something fun and maybe slightly crazy with each other! Go sky diving, play paintball, take the day off and drive to the beach (the crazy part would be going swimming in February!), have a chocolate party and watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! Be creative!
3. Spend time with family. If Valentine's Day is supposed to be about celebrating love, spend it with some of the people who know you best and still manage to love you! If your family is on the younger side, it shouldn't be that hard to organize a family dinner and game night, but if all of your family members are older and married you will have to work around their plans. Volunteering to babysit your nieces and nephews while their parents have a date night is a good alternative. Not only would you be doing a huge favor for your brother or sister, you would also get a chance to become the "cool" aunt or uncle!
4. Don't start a relationship just for the sake of "not being alone." Selfishly using someone so that you won't have to feel insecure is always a bad idea.
5. Avoid romance movies. If you do find yourself alone on Valentine's Day, resist the impulse to pop in Pride and Prejudice (naturally most men won't have any problem with this bit of advice). I hopelessly love chick flicks, but take it from someone who has been single on Valentine's Day for 22 years running, romance movies just make self-pity worse. If you want to watch a movie, either pick something that completely avoids romance (think Finding Nemo) or a tragic drama that will leave you depressed but rejoicing in your singleness. One of my favorites is The Stoning of Soraya M. I dare you to feel sorry for yourself after watching that tear jerker!
6. Make someone's day. One of my mentor's, Dr. M, hand makes Valentine's Day cards and keeps them with her to hand out to random people. Even if you don't have time to make cards by hand, think about some little ways that you can bring sunshine to someone's life!
7. Do something for yourself. Buy that book or movie you have been resisting because money is tight...and then don't feel guilty about it! Get a massage, plan that vacation, start that book!
