Here's How to Do Valentine’s Day When You’re Single

The thing about Valentine’s Day is that it happens whether you acknowledge it or not. You wake up, you go outside, and suddenly the world is pink and red, like some capitalist fever dream.

People are carrying bouquets, their faces lit up by phone screens as they text people who love them back. But you, the single man, are watching all this from the outside.

And maybe it doesn’t bother you, but maybe it does. Maybe you tell yourself it doesn’t, but later, when you’re in line at the grocery store behind someone buying a bottle of rosé and a heart-shaped cake, you feel something sharp and ridiculous in your chest.

So, what do you do? How do you survive the day that, according to every marketing campaign, isn’t for you?

Here’s a guide—not a prescriptive one, just some ideas. Take what you need.

1. Romanticize your own life

You don’t need a relationship to have a cinematic main-character moment. Walk through the city at night, earphones in, listening to a song that makes you feel like you’re in a moody indie film.

Buy yourself flowers, not as an act of defiance but because they look nice on your desk. Wear something that makes you feel effortlessly cool. Make your coffee the way you actually like it, not the way someone else might like it.

2. Make it a day for the boys

If love is about connection, then Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be exclusive to couples.

Text your best friend. Start a group chat. Organize something, even if it’s just hanging out in someone’s apartment watching a movie none of you actually care about.

The point is, there are other people in your life who matter. And chances are, they’d be happy to hear from you.

3. Do the thing you’ve been putting off

Maybe you’ve been meaning to start writing that essay. Maybe your guitar is gathering dust in the corner. Maybe you keep saying you’ll go to the gym, but somehow, you never do.

Today is a good day to prove to yourself that you can show up for you. Not out of self-improvement guilt, but because, frankly, you deserve your own effort.

4. Avoid the noise (or don’t)

Some people delete social media for the day. Others double down and lean into the chaos.

You could post an ironically dramatic story about how you’re “boycotting love” (accompanied by a black-and-white photo of your coffee). Or you could disappear completely, taking refuge in a book or a video game or a long aimless walk.

There’s no right answer, just whatever makes you feel less like throwing your phone out the window.

5. Let yourself feel whatever you feel

Here’s the thing: It’s okay if today sucks a little. It’s okay if you feel lonely or annoyed or indifferent.

But it’s also okay if you don’t. If you actually have a pretty good day, despite everything. If you find that, weirdly, you kind of like having this time to yourself.

Because, at the end of it, February 15 will arrive. The overpriced chocolates will go on sale. The world will move on. And so will you.

Photos courtesy IMDB