Feb. 15: a day of celebration for singles

By Kim Anderson
The Collegian

Valentine’s Day is traditionally a day on which lovers express their affection for one another with flowers, cards and candy.

For people who are single, this day can be a reminder of their relationship status.

Now, those who are single might have just as much reason to celebrate as those with a significant other.

Feb. 14 is still the day for celebration of love, but the day after — Feb. 15 — is deemed Singles Awareness Day.

“I’m not sure how I feel about it. I think it’s a good thing to celebrate; being single isn’t a bad thing,” Teresa Williams, art history major at University of California, Irvine, said in a phone interview with The Collegian. “I’m just not so sure about having it the day after Valentine’s Day. Some people may think that it’s because all the singles are bitter.”

On Singles Awareness Day (SAD), single people gather to celebrate being unattached and the idea that it is okay for them to be single.

“I am single, but a friend of mine asked me to be his valentine,” registered nurse Andrea Reyes said. “Coincidently, my date — who is also single — and I have decided to hang out on the 15th instead of the 14th because of schedule conflicts.”

The goal of SAD, created by Dustin Barnes from Mississippi State University, is to let singles have celebrations, get-togethers and exchange gifts with their single friends.

Originally, Feb. 14 was referred to as Single’s Awareness Day for the acronym it represents (SAD).

“I like to think that I’m OK being single,” Reyes said. “In all honesty, there are many times where I miss the security of being in a committed relationship but for the most part, I like knowing that I can be happy being single.”

Moving SAD to the day after Valentine’s Day allows single people a chance to celebrate on their own day rather than on a day which is a reminder of being single.

For those who don’t enjoy being alone around Valentine’s Day, it’s a chance to get together with other singles to have fun.

And for those who like being single, it’s to celebrate that they can be just as happy as those in a relationship.

“If I can find some friends to celebrate it with, I will,” Williams said. “I’d feel pretty pathetic celebrating singles awareness day all by myself.”

If being alone on Valentine’s Day still gets you down, Health and Psychological Services is having a meeting on surviving Valentine’s Day at 3 p.m. in University Health and Psychological Services Conference Room 149.

The meeting is for students, faculty and staff members to share thoughts, feelings and strategies for surviving Valentine’s Day.

“I think that every day is a day for singles,” Reyes said. “I think Valentine’s Day is reserved for couples out of spite for every day being singles day.”

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