Recently, I came across a funny e-card on Pinterest. It read “No Boyfriend November was a success, should I go for Don’t Date December? Just me January? Forever Alone February? No Man March?” and obviously laughed hysterically. Once the laughter was over though, I was kind of disappointed with the message this e-card portrayed to single women. Being single is nothing to be ashamed about. Having a boyfriend is sometimes the most tedious, stressful thing on earth and it makes girls want to ditch the bf and live life in the single lane to the fullest. Usually, being single is super enjoyable. You get to go out on weekends and make out with however many boys you want to at frat parties, drink wine for days with your girlfriends while you play “never have I ever” and don’t have to worry about your boyfriend judging you and your un-saintly past, and not caring about the amount of cheesy mac and cheese bites you ate from Sheetz when you were drunk last Saturday! The only day that most girls usually do not like being single is, that’s right you guessed it, Valentine’s Day also known as Single-Awareness Day.
Valentine’s Day is the most romantic day of the year, apparently. Your boyfriend is supposed to shower you with gifts, flowers, and most importantly, chocolate (all girls looooove chocolate!). But what if you are boyfriendless? Is this the end of the world? Hell no sista, this is only the beginning. Galentine’s Day- see what I did there!- is a day for single gals to get together, drink wine, bitch about all the drama in their life, and hang out with Ben and Jerry (the greatest boyfriends of all time, especially the Half-Baked flavor) and celebrate loving themselves! Just because you do not have a boy showering you with gifts, flowers, and chocolate does not mean you cannot shower yourself with all of those great things or you can just sit in front of the television eating God’s greatest gift to earth, nachos, and watching that terrible Valentine’s day movie with all the famous people. Another perk to Valentine’s Day is that Ryan Gosling’s beautiful face will probably be on your television all day long because The Notebook will be on repeat on some channel made specifically for women.
Do you know how stressful it is trying to find a gift for your boyfriend on Valentine’s Day? This isn’t a big enough holiday to actually get him a real present but who wants to just exchange cards? You want more than a card! What do boys even LIKE?! Who knows, it still remains a mystery to me. But you know what you do know? You know what YOU like! Hence why being single is great. You can go buy yourself all the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups that you can afford! Who wants to spend money on anybody but yourself when you’re in college? You’re on a ten hour per week, minimum wage budget and those presents will cost you two days’ worth of food. Let’s face it; you’re too hungry for that. You would have to go buy a new outfit (you will never actually wear that pink or red sequin dress again, unless you re-wear it for Valentine’s Day next year and you wouldn’t be caught dead doing that!) As for dinner, there is a very realistic probability that you’ll be crammed into the back corner at some semi-fancy restaurant because your boyfriend scheduled your reservation at the last minute and the restaurant felt bad for him and set up a table next to the kitchen door for you, maybe even next to the bathroom. Fret not relationship-status girls, not all boyfriends are huge block heads and some did call the restaurant three weeks in advance to get the perfect table, where the candlelight will hit your faces just right. And it will be magical. I think you may even see those fireworks that everyone is always talking about in movies.
I’m not saying that having a valentine is a bad thing. Good for you relationship-status girl. You managed to find a starfish in a sea full of clown fish. I’m just saying that one of the biggest fears for a girl on Valentine’s Day is this conversation with your man: “Oh, it’s Valentine’s Day? I didn’t know we were exchanging gifts.” This is a total and complete shock to you because OF COURSE you went out and bought him his favorite chocolates, a funny movie, and to be that cool girlfriend that every guy wants, you got him some fancy cigar from Cuba. Did he think to get you anything? No! Of course not! They say blondes are airheads… but it seems to be the case that most boys are too. One year my valentine got me a 5 dollar ITunes gift card (I got him two super cool, trendy shirts from PacSun). It was over before it began. Again, not to say that some boys will not buy you super great presents like a Tiffany bracelet that you will cherish forever (coughcoughtakenoteboyscough).
In the end gals, Cyndi Lauper said it best when she said “girls just wanna have fun.” Yes, being in a relationship is great and yes, some boyfriends are so fantastic they should be framed and put on your mantle. BUT it is not the end of the world if you are single on this day! You get to drink, complain, eat brownies, cupcakes, cookies, pretty much anything with sugar, and get to watch movies with Hollywood’s hottest male actors all day long. Get your single lady friends together. I’ll bring the ice cream and you bring the wine. Let’s crank up some Beyoncé. Galentine’s Day is the holiday of all holidays, especially with Ben and Jerry involved! I would also like to point out that I am neither pro nor anti-Valentine’s day. I hope people do not think that I am just some cynical single who cannot get a date, hence this article. I have actually had a “valentine” pretty much every year for as long as I remember. I just don’t think being single should be looked down upon, it should be celebrated! I don’t approve of this “single-awareness day” business because you are single every other day of the week and this hyped up greeting card holiday should not make you feel any different. EMBRACE IT LADIES!