Valentine’s Day sucks ass for some
Hope for the couples and ideas for the singles
So sad. Boo hoo. / Michael Chmielewski
Author: Allison Stinson
It’s about that time of year: the clock is ticking, and you’re still wondering if you’ll be able to convince somebody from Tinder into going on a date with you so you don’t have to spend the night alone watching The Notebook and eating Ben & Jerry’s out of the carton. That’s right, Valentine’s Day is getting closer, with a heavy dosage of love and a sprinkle of desperation wafting through the air.
I think that everyone has had a Valentine’s Day that was certainly less than ideal. By no means do I have any “traumatic” stories, just a sort of lame situation that involved a two litre of Dr. Pepper and a very large container of jelly beans when I was in high school and first experiencing young love. From a girl’s perspective, it is very easy to get caught up in the cheesy expectations of this holiday. Even if you have no expectations at all, there’s always a small part of you that is hoping a certain someone will magically read your mind and deliver a bouquet of flowers or chocolates signed, “From your secret admirer.”
For this particular subject matter, I tried to interview a number of students and could barely get anyone to talk! Maybe it’s the subject matter? Maybe the time of year? Luckily, I was able to have a sit down with fourth-year Education health major Kallie Bonnor, third-year Nursing major Adam Henry, and U of R alumni Basit Sami and Shandra Nelson, who were able to entertain me with these light-hearted anecdotes on Valentine’s Day.
What is your worst Valentine’s Day experience?
Kallie Bonner: Well, I’ve only had one Valentine’s Day where I was dating someone, and I had to work that night…so we just did stuff the next day. With the exception of that year, every year it has just been another day.
Shandra Nelson: Good question! Finding an email in my ex boyfriend’s inbox of naked girls after I baked a Valentine’s Day cake for him.
Adam Henry: One year, I wanted to take out the girl that I was dating. We went to about seven or eight restaurants before we gave up on waiting to get in and went to Tim Horton’s.
Basit Sami: I once texted a couple girls, “Happy Valentine’s.” They were right next to each other when they got it.
Has this changed your view on Valentine’s Day?
KB: No, not really. I don’t have to work on Valentine’s Day every year, but I still haven’t had anyone to celebrate it with so that won’t change my view on the day.
SN: Nope!
AH: I wouldn’t say that my views have changed.
BS: No, it did teach me how stupid I am though.
What are your Valentine’s Day plans this year?
KB: I’m supposed to hang out with some of my also single friends. It’ll be a good time.
SN: My boyfriend is out of town for work, so I will be having my own private karaoke session and belting out “Radioactive” at the top of my lungs!
AH: I haven’t made any plans this year. I work that night so I will probably go home after work and watch a romantic movie with my girlfriend because she’s been bugging me to do that.
BS: It’s our one year for my fiancée and I! She has a surprise planned…so I have no idea.
Well, with all that said, I encourage all the singles like me out there to do something small and treat yourselves. Another idea is to spend Valentine’s Day showing your love for the people that are close to you in your life. Just because the day is about love doesn’t mean it has to be about romantic love.
Don’t give into societal peer pressure, and do your best to not get too caught up in your friends bragging about the bouquet of flowers or fancy dinners they got. For all the singles out there, the bonus is knowing that at the end of the day, you don’t have to impress anyone! Embrace you, and buy yourself some chocolates. You deserve it!
