Feb. 11, 2015

By Kelli Viele

[dropcap]E[/dropcap]veryone has been there, that Valentine’s Day when you are single and it seems as if every person you know will be spending their Valentine’s Day on a romantic date with their significant other. Do not fret, you are not the only person single this day for sweethearts, no matter how much it seems like you are.

Being single on Valentine’s Day does not mean you have to write off the holiday completely. There are numerous alternatives in which you can still enjoy the upcoming holiday. Make this year’s Valentine’s Day about loving yourself and surrounding yourself with those you love as well.

Talk with other single friends you have and see if they would like to get together and eat dinner. Go to a restaurant or even plan a meal at a person’s house where everyone brings a dish to pass.

If going out to dinner, dress up. Be proud of yourself and how you look knowing that you are making the most out of your Valentine’s Day single. If going to someone’s house for dinner, play board games afterwards or bring your favorite comedy movie and, as a group, pick which one to watch. Have fun and laugh with one another.

Being with a group of people who also are single and in the same situation can turn a Valentine’s Day into a celebration of friendship. Valentine’s Day is about showing someone you love how much you care about them. So this Valentine’s Day, show your friends the love you feel for them by spending the holiday together.

Even those in relationships may not be able to be with their significant other because of serving in the military, employment obligations and distance factors. Even though they may not be single, do not forget to include those friends in your Valentine’s Day plans as well. The more friends at your gathering, the less lonely your holiday will be.

If you are single this Valentine’s Day, focus on you. Do not spend the day thinking and asking yourself why you are not in love. Instead, focus the day around doing things that you love and thinking of the qualities that you love about yourself. Someday, when the time is right, you will share these qualities with the person you love.

Give yourself a Valentine’s Day gift, whether it be a cuddly Valentine’s Day stuffed animal, a box of chocolates, or maybe treat yourself to your favorite coffee and pastry in the morning, or for guys, possibly that new video game you have been wanting to get so bad. There are many possibilities one can think up. Buy yourself something you will love and receive joy from purchasing.

Remember this Valentine’s Day is all about you.

Andy Stanley’s book, “The New Rules for Love, Sex, & Dating,” centers around the idea that individuals must first focus on themselves. Stanley’s book discusses the importance of “becoming the right person” to enable individuals to be able to have relationships that will be long living and successful in the future.

If you feel you have forgotten yourself and are not your number one focus, spend this Valentine’s Day making that transition of focus to be about you again. Remind yourself that this will benefit you, but also, as Stanley theorizes, it will benefit your future relationships to be of higher quality.

When you wake up on Valentine’s Day, write a list of 10 things that you love about yourself. Carry this list with you wherever you go on Valentine’s Day to remind yourself to celebrate love. Even though you’re single, you are celebrating the love you have for yourself and the most important relationship.