The V-Day Coalition

Ladies, can we all just make an agreement ahead of time that we will not let Valentine's Day get us down? Instead of dwelling on the negatives: being single, dateless, no flowers/chocolate, no kisses, etc., can we please focus on the positives? The positives are: we are beautiful, free to date whomever, nobody is holding us back from our dreams, and we are not stuck in loveless relationships on Valentine's Day.

For once, I want to embrace my life on Valentine's Day because the more I think about it, I have never had a particularly wonderful V-Day. It's not all it's cracked up to be, even when I was with somebody. I've had better ones lonely and dateless.

I once got into the worst fight of our relationship with an ex-boyfriend on Valentine's Day; that was the beginning of the end for us. Years before that, I had been dumped after Christmas by a guy, and by V-Day, I had discovered that he was planning a romantic day for his new love, the girl he had always wanted, the one right before me. Knowing that he was spending Valentine's Day with his new lover tore my insides apart and left me sick to my stomach.

Truth be told, V-Day has always been better when I'm single. It's just another day. I go to work, come home, do laundry, eat dinner, watch TV, and sleep. And, if if it falls on the weekend, I spend it by myself, watching movies, but I don't go out.

Going out on Valentine's Day can be torture if you don't mentally prepare yourself: you see all the happy couples together, and it's depressing, and you can't help but think "Why can't I have that?" It's better to just chill with friends or curl up on the couch and watch chick flicks or romantic period pieces all night. At least, you know you'll enjoy yourself.

But, if you do go out that night: then rally up a few of your single girlfriends; put on your favorite heels; glam yourself up; and be as sexy and fabulous as you can be. Just remember: you may envy the girl at the bar hanging on to her boyfriend, but she's probably looking at you in all your glory, thinking "I wish I was single again."

Everybody wants the life they aren't living, even the girls with the boyfriends on Valentine's Day. So, go out and live your life as best as you can live it because before you know it, you will be that girl. Embrace your freedom as a single woman while you have it.