I Don’t Know About You, But This Valentine’s Day I’m Going To Enjoy My Goddamn Life

Please, do yourself a favor and try to enjoy this day instead of weeping into your pillowcase for twenty four hours straight. Do yourself a favor and treat this day just like any other day! Because honestly? That's what it is.

By Lauren Jarvis-Gibson

Updated 8 years ago, February 13, 2017

Valentine’s day is just a day. It’s just a normal Tuesday. A workday full of projects and due dates and brainstorming. A school day full of long classes and studying. And yes, maybe you’re single and lonely, but please for the love of god, don’t let this silly holiday dictate your emotions.

I never liked Valentine’s day even when I happened to be in great relationships. There was always so much built up pressure. Too many expectations and too many let downs. It never ended being a fantastic day for me, no matter what my relationship status was. And I always spent way too much money on candy hearts and way too much time fretting about how the night would go, instead of actually enjoying the experience.

So this year, I’m not letting this day get me down. And you shouldn’t either.

Please, do yourself a favor and try to enjoy this day instead of weeping into your pillowcase for twenty-four hours straight. Do yourself a favor and treat this day just like any other day! Because honestly? That’s what it is.

I don’t know about you, but I’m actually going to enjoy myself this year. I’m not gonna wallow in self-pity with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked ice cream. I’m not going to call up all my friends telling them that I’m going to be #foreveralone. I’m not going to hate myself or feel even a tiny bit sorry for myself. Honestly, it’s just not even worth that kind of self-sabotage.

I’m not going to stalk my exes, hoping they are alone too. I’m not going to listen to Taylor Swift songs just to get a good cry out. I’m not going to curse all those people that I see in steady relationships, and yell at them when they kiss in public.

And I’m not going to act like being single is a bad thing.

Being single is a choice, and I fully choose to not be in a relationship right now. Being in a relationship is not my number one goal anymore and truth be told, it shouldn’t be yours either.

Focus on what you do have. Focus on your family and on your career. Focus on your dreams and your aspirations. Focus on your wonderful friendships and your wonderful co-workers.

Focus on how hard you have worked on yourself this year. Focus on how far you have come from being twenty-one and heartbroken. Find the beauty in yourself and find the love within yourself, before you start trash talking your own heart. Don’t let the stress and the pressure of this holiday get to you.

Just because you aren’t in a relationship, does NOT mean that there is no love in your life. Just because you are single, does not mean that you aren’t lovable. This isn’t the end of the world. This shouldn’t be the worst day of your life, so please stop telling yourself that it is.

It’s just a normal day. Stop making your heart so miserable!

Just enjoy it. Enjoy your life. And don’t forget to pour yourself some wine, eat a shit ton of chocolate hearts and please, please, stop giving a fuck.