How To Embrace Single Life This Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is around the corner and for many singles it comes with a hint of anxiety and perhaps even a dash of sadness. What about the singles amongst us who deserve love but don’t have anyone special in their lives? Well, this year, we’re calling all singles to unite and celebrate all kinds of love.
Whether you are single on purpose, just got dumped or lost your significant other, it is time to practice how to celebrate love differently. We delve into things to do whilst single, how to be happy alone, why loving yourself is necessary before you can love someone else and how to embrace all the other kinds of love around you.
Single On Purpose
We stumbled upon a book by John Kim called Single. On Purpose. and it gave us quite a good perspective on being by yourself on Valentine’s Day. Kim talks about redefining everything and finding yourself first. Prioritising the relationship with yourself will result in a more meaningful, content and successful life, whether the romantic part is there or not.
Whether you are waiting to find ‘the one’ or are just tired of jumping from one partner to the next, sometimes you need some time to just exist on your own. There is no company you need to enjoy more than your own and this Valentine’s Day, we propose testing it out.
No one wants to date themselves, but take yourself on a solo outing just to see how it feels. Watch that movie in the cinema you’ve wanted to see. Grab a coffee at Starbucks and read a book. Spend the day at the mall, window (or actual) shopping for all the things on your wish list. Buy yourself a bunch of flowers (or a box of chocolates).
In essence, you don’t need someone else with you in order to live your best life. Own being single. As Justin Bieber famously said: “You should go and love yourself.”
“Hey Mom, I Just Got Dumped“
If you fall into this category, you are probably anti-love right now. Valentine’s Day has turned into “Singles Awareness Day” and you might be a tad bitter. You also might want to throw your dirty tissues at the rom-coms playing on Netflix or trample on all the red roses in the shops. However, we are here to tell you that it does not have to be all doom and gloom.
Cynics say Valentine’s Day is just a money-making scheme that commercial companies created to profit off emotions. However, optimists say whilst that might be the case, it is also a day to celebrate all the things and people you love and love you in return. You don’t have to support the hustle or play into the idea of romance, but you could twist it, bend it and make it your own.
Show yourself that you are worthy of love. Treat yourself to a spa day and release all the tension that comes with heartbreak. Or, work through your complicated feelings by writing a letter that you will never send. (That means you can say anything and everything you’ve ever wanted to say. Our personal favourite is having a movie marathon with break-up favourites like Legally Blonde, Mamma Mia, Runaway Bride, The Break-Up, Blue Valentine, How To Be Single and Bridget Jones. Embrace the feelings of hurt but remind yourself that there is always a happy ending.
Loving With A Grieving Heart
Some hearts might be breaking for a different reason this Valentine’s Day. Whilst your loved one might not have chosen to leave you, they didn’t have a choice. So whilst you have someone to love, they are not physically here to receive that love. Do not shy away from showing it, though. Heidi Priebe says: “As long as there is love, there will be grief, because grief is love’s natural continuation.” Grieving reminds you that love was here and, in some ways, is still here.
If your partner has passed on, pack a picnic and celebrate the love between your two souls, whether it’s in the graveyard or remembrance area, or at your favourite spot. Book a table for two at your person’s favourite restaurant and order what they would have had if they were still here. Visit family and friends that knew your special someone too and reminisce about memorable shared moments. Remind yourself how lucky you are to have had something so special that makes saying goodbye so hard.
Different Kinds Of Love
Whilst Valentine’s Day is notoriously known for the romantic kind of love, many other types exist. Friends, family, pets, hobbies — you love them all in some way or another. Why not celebrate that, regardless of whether the romantic kind is around or not?
Society invented ‘Galentine’s Day’ to do exactly that, but bros, you can be make a ‘Bro-tine’s Day’ too! In addition, you could send your mother a bunch of roses to thank her for her unconditional love and support. Or, hold the light for your dad while he fixes the plugs and changes the light bulbs he’s been putting off. Take your grandmother out for tea and scones. Sip on cocktails with your brother and sister. Dance with your friends and snuggle with your fur babies. You don’t have to look for love elsewhere when it is all around you already.
Being single on Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be a bad (or a sad) thing. Use the opportunity to celebrate self-love, your newly found independence, your grief that means that you’ve loved and have been loved, and the friends who became family and the family who will always love you, no matter what.
