Valentine’s Day is commonly celebrated by couples, but students without a significant other are still finding fun ways to enjoy the holiday. 

Samantha Shaffer, a sophomore early childhood education major, said she does not like the stress of having a boyfriend on Valentine’s Day and prefers being single for the holiday. 

“A lot of people think Valentine’s Day is only for relationships, but it’s also for friendships and family members,” Shaffer said. “It’s a day to celebrate love in general.” 

When Valentine’s Day approaches, Shaffer said she gets excited to see all the cute heart decorations in stores and loves scrolling through TikTok to see cute holiday celebrations. 

“I would love to celebrate Valentine’s Day with my friends by dressing up cute, taking pictures, making cookies or even watching a cute rom-com,” Shaffer said. 

Keni Lucas, a sophomore child psychology major, said she plans on spending the day with her friends and having a Galentine’s Day celebration — a get-together that celebrates friendship.

“We really want to paint little mugs and make heart-shaped pizzas to eat,” Lucas said. “I really want to do that. I’ve always seen it on TikTok and I just think it’s so adorable.” 

Lucas said she finds the aesthetic of Valentine’s Day very cute and fun, so being single for the holiday does not ruin her celebration. 

“I’m excited to do things with my friends because it’s a fun bonding experience,” Lucas said. “When everyone is single, it’s fun to get together and enjoy each other’s company.” 

Megan Bendel, a sophomore psychology major, is spending Valentine’s Day single and says she enjoys it better than having a boyfriend to spend the day with. 

“Being in a relationship on Valentine’s Day felt ten times worse than any other birthday or Christmas,” Bendel said. “I was stressed about getting them something nice and cute, but how do you shop for a guy to get him something nice and cute?” 

During the Valentine’s Day season, Bendel said she loves to get chocolate and make special trips to Dunkin’ for heart-shaped donuts, which remind her of past Valentine’s Days she has spent with her family. 

“My dad came home every morning with the heart-shaped donuts and in the afternoon, he would have my mom make us these cute little Valentine’s Day lunches,” Bendel said. “At the end of the night, we would all curl up and watch a movie together.” 

When thinking of past celebrations, Lucas remembers buying wooden flowers for friends in school and Shaffer remembers spending time making a Valentine’s Day box. In elementary school, students would make boxes for classmates to drop cards and candy into. 

“I was always so stressed because I wanted my box to be perfect,” Shaffer said. “I wanted people to put so many treats in my box.” 

Valentine’s Day has become a day when people in relationships celebrate their love, but that is not the whole purpose of the holiday. 

“Either if you’re with somebody or single, at the end of the day it’s a holiday that you can spend with the people you love,” Bendel said. “You don’t need a significant other to celebrate love; you just need to feel loved in the environment you are in.”

Adrianna Quinlan is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].