A Survivor's Guide to a Dateless Valentine's Day
By Stephanie Lynn, age 21, Massachusetts
SDM Editor-in-Chief
It's February 14th and there's no special guy in your life. At least not this year. You can outwit, outplay, and outlast society's celebration of the romantic "haves" - even though you happen to be amongst the "have nots" at the moment. Here's how.
7 things you can do on February 14th:
1. Wear all black in protest. Especially if you're highly annoyed by those wearing too much pink & red ... and those dorky heart pins. Ick.
2. Do not ... I repeat ... DO NOT go out to eat! That's where all the couples are. Stay home and order take out from your favorite pizza or Chinese restaurant. Also, spoil yourself by eating chocolate or making your favorite dessert. Don't go calorie crazy though. Otherwise you'll be working off those pounds 'til Christmas.
Tip: Be sure to pick up some discounted Valentine's Day candy on February 15th!! Laugh at the thought of the poor suckers who overpaid two or three days earlier.
3. Go Shopping. Grab a girl friend, sister, or your mom, and hit up the mall. Buy something you've been dying to have for a while. Shopping always puts me in a great mood.
4. Pamper Yourself. Go out for a massage, manicure, or new hairstyle ... or else stay home and soak in a long bubble bath and listen to some relaxing music. Whatever works for you. Just not Britney Spears. She's annoying any day of the year.
Remember, you deserve to make this day all about you!
5. Girl's Night Out. Gather up all your single girlfriends and have a Girl's Night. Cook them dinner or make a fancy dessert, and watch your favorite chick flick. Or you could go see the latest comedy in the movie theater. You may want to avoid date movies though.
Above all, remember to enjoy the relationships you have rather than dwelling on the guy you wish you had. He'll come along when he's supposed to ... or, being a guy, he'll be half an hour late ... But he'll arrive with some really lame excuse, so it's worth it for the laugh.
6. Okay, this one isn't for all my readers, but ...
Make a list of things you'd change about yourself so that any great guy would be nuts not to want to spend next Valentine's Day with you. Some things are unchangeable, and you should never dwell on these. But weight can be lost with willpower and a smart healthy plan, and character qualities that make people either attractive or unattractive can be worked on.
If you want somebody who really cares about you, sometimes the best thing you can do is to become someone who really cares about others. Sometimes it's not bad luck or even bad skin that turns everyone away, but rather a bad personality. In time, positive, unselfish, caring people generally find someone great who cares about them.
A personality makeover begins with a realistic plan and a total commitment to becoming the person God intended for you to be. And in the process, remember your sources of strength within and above.
7. Finally, if all else fails, pin a picture of Cupid on your father's dart board and give the little guy a taste of his own medicine. Score it any way you want, but add an extra 10 points each time you put a dart in his naked little butt!
