STORY & PHOTO BY BELLA GARCIA
While Valentine’s Day is knowingly reserved for couples, Cypress College students who are not in romantic relationships show devotion to themselves with love-centered activities tailored to elicit their own bliss.
Feb. 14, the annual day commemorating Saint Valentine martyrs and now significant for celebrating romance and love, opens revenue floodgates for florists and candy companies when people rush to make their partners feel special.
What about those not in romantic relationships during the holiday, though?
Freshman Jubilee Allen says that while she personally does not care too much for Valentine’s Day, she believes that being single during the holiday should not necessarily call for any blue feelings.
Instead of possibly “moaning and groaning” about not spending the holiday with one particular individual, Allen says to do something nice for yourself. The day is about feeling the love, no matter where it comes from.
“Like today, I bought myself an iPad and jeans because why […] not,” said Allen.
For others like freshman Larissa Samano, they would prefer to spend the day showering love onto their friends and people they love. This year, Samano and her friends chose to celebrate the holiday by putting on their very own Galentine’s Day.
The women in your life can be the most impactful people, yet finding time to spend appreciating one another can seem long overdue. A planned Galentine’s Day, though, is the perfect occasion to make one another feel special.
“Some of us girls are in relationships and some of us aren’t,” said Samano, “Either way, it is exciting because we don’t get to do things like this often – we’ll really be able to show our love for one another.”
No better way to spend the day about love than to throw together a few charcuterie boards, order takeout, and drink something cheap with your closest friends.
“The day is about spoiling the ones you love right,” said Samano.
Samano is right, everyone deserves to receive and eat an entire box of chocolates and Valentine’s Day is the designated day to do so.
So, while Valentine’s Day may focus on romance, the holiday does induce the persuading feeling of having a good time, and there is never a good excuse to turn down a good time.