Valentine's Day does not just have to be for people who are in relationships — it can be for everyone.
It has been engraved in our minds that you can only enjoy Valentine’s Day if you are in a relationship. I used to hate this holiday with everything in me because I was never with someone to celebrate it.
Every year, my girl friends and I have a “Galentine’s Night” around Valentine’s Day so even our friends who are in relationships can join us. We usually watch movies together, play games and eat cookie cakes. This is the first year I can buy wine for Valentine’s Day, and you can bet that I will be taking advantage of that.
This year’s Galentine’s Day was really fun, despite a few absences because of the Super Bowl. Some of us brought sweets, we watched “Thor: Ragnarok” and we all made funny PowerPoints to present to each other.
Additionally, I have noticed over the years that there are so many things to do on Valentine’s Day even when you are single. I will be going out to get some of the deals offered around Bloomington with my friends. Even if you are in a relationship but can’t celebrate with your partner, you can celebrate with friends. Or if your friends are in relationships, you can also use the day for self-love.
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I wanted to focus on myself and practice self-love for Valentine’s Day. Maybe I will buy myself some flowers and do a face mask because the most important person I can love today is myself. Some other ways to practice self love today may be to drink some wine — if you're over 21 — and relax, get yourself some chocolates to eat while you do homework or even splurge on a good meal for yourself. The possibilities are endless.
Valentine’s Day might even spark creativity for some. A local band Herd Immunity made a music video to celebrate the holiday.
The song is called “Chalamet” because Joseph Ermey, one of the band members, met someone he liked but who seemed more interested in Timothée Chalamet than in him.
“The next day I wrote the song about what I think a lot of men are experiencing right now, which is serious self-confidence issues when compared to Timothée Chalamet,” Ermey said.
After speaking with Ermey, I watched the video and it seemed like the perfect song to listen to on Valentine’s Day. It is being released Monday which is perfect, especially because the video is aptly themed.
If you do not know what you want to do for Valentine’s Day, reach out to your friends and see if they want to get dinner. Whether you are celebrating this Valentine’s Day with a significant other, with friends, by yourself or by making a music video, make this day your own.
Olivia Franklin (she/her) is a junior studying journalism with a minor in political science. She is a member of the swim club at IU and the Women in Media organization.
