Single Ladies on Valentine’s Day, as told by GIFs

I don’t care who you are: if you’re a female and it’s February and it’s the 14th (this Friday, for the blissfully unaware) — then Valentine’s Day is SUPPOSED to be a pretty big deal.

The thing that is most distressing about the whole shebang is that it is considered normal for Valentine’s Day to cause us stress: whether we are pulling are hair out over the perfect gift to get our boyfriend or hook-up buddy or whatever, OR hiding in our bedrooms pining away because it is so, so, heart-wrenchingly sad that we are spending this particular Friday night by ourselves with a bottle of wine and a movie named after this unfortunate holiday. 

But between exams and PMS, who needs another reason to feel stressed about anything???

If you planned to spend Friday the 14th (doesn’t that have a nice ring to it?) like this:

Then your girlfriends (especially those in relationships who have an entire day of love-themed frivolity planned) will be like this: 

And your mother will give you a call and say something like this: 

Your single friends come up with the (seemingly brilliant) plan to compete amongst yourselves to get a date on Valentine’s Day. Stakes are high, and there are no rules. You have less than 3 days to pull this one off.

You’re a little hesitant at first… but then… why not???

Your girlfriends and you hit up the bars downtown and pay EXTRA good attention in class for the next few days… just playing the game, after all. Some tactics are blunt and blatant:

Some, oh-so subtle:

Others, not so subtle: 

You briefly consider phoning up your ex to hang out… like a friend-date, right? But your friends shoot that one down.

You call up your guy bestfriend, hoping he’ll come to your rescue, only to find out he FINALLY asked out that girl in his biology class.You are secretly happy for him… but also feeling a little of this:

You go to hang out with a bunch of your friends on Wednesday night, only to realize that– somehow– many of them have miraculously managed to couple off in time for the big day: 

You weigh your options carefully:

But wait! You’re a brilliant single college woman! You can do anything!

If you’re having trouble making up your mind, though, here are two straightforward options:

1. Singledom is bliss. Stay in, or go out with your girlfriends. Eat chocolates and drink wine… or be a rebel and eat gummy worms and drink beer. 

2. Or, get yourself a date!

All that matters is that you’re prepared to have a good time. It doesn’t have to be the romantic night of your life, and there doesn’t have to be any pressure involved at all! You don’t have to go on a formal date to a fancy restaraunt… but you can if you want to. Once you’ve got that decided, you can call up a guy friend, a family friend, the cutie from chemistry, or that guy that you haven’t quite had the DTR talk with yet. Your Valentine’s Day may turn out to be full of unexpected surprises… or just a lot of fun.

And remember, there’s a guy out there for you if you want one… but you don’t need one: