OPINION

This Valentine’s Day, learn to love yourself

Lexi Stephens

Contributor

Daily affirmations improve how you perceive yourself and are a great way to practice self-care. Skye Bawol | The Washtenaw Voice

Love is in the air! But not for me. If it is for you then, hey, congratulations. If you’re anything like me, however, you get unlucky at love year after year. Now, is that necessarily a bad thing? Absolutely not!

In my opinion, it’s better to be single on Valentine’s Day. We don’t have to go through the stress of picking out the perfect gift for our significant other, we don’t have to make extravagant plans and, most importantly, we have more time for self-care. Whether you have a Valentine or not, it’s important that we all practice self-love, not just on Valentine’s Day, but all throughout the year.

WTMC counselor, James Cockles, gave lots of ways myself and others can show ourselves love. James told me via email, “giving yourself grace is a form of self-love.”

It can be tough being the only one out of your group of friends without a valentine so, this year, instead of stalking your favorite couples on Valentine’s Day and feeling bad about yourself, try journaling! Journaling is a great way to express your feelings if you’re not completely open to the idea of expressing your feelings to others.

Not a good writer? No problem! Simple tasks such as listening to music, watching your favorite movies, or making yourself a tasty snack are all other valid ways of giving yourself grace.

Now, I know giving yourself grace is easier said than done, but it’s important not to put yourself down during the Valentine’s season. If you’re feeling lonely and want some ideas on how to distract yourself from feeling isolated, you can try connecting with friends and family, planning for the future and even treating yourself like your own Valentine.

Hanging out with your friends is something that will almost always make you feel less lonely whether that’s having them over for a galentines/palentines day party or just talking on the phone.

Planning for the future can be fun. Riley Cruz, a WTMC sophomore, said, “This Valentine’s Day me and my friends are getting together to dress up and take pictures. ”I thought that was a great way to plan a get-together with friends and be creative.

Try creating a vision board of things you’d like to do, places you’d like to visit, or even plan out your dream life. Treating yourself with kindness is so important this time of year. Go out and spoil yourself by buying that really expensive thing you wanted but couldn’t justify the price of. Or finish that show that you swore you were going to watch months ago.

Valentine’s Day doesn’t just have to be for couples, it can be for everyone! Practicing self-love is just as important as loving others.