Actor Zac Efron jokingly shared his plans for Valentine’s Day with Extra on Feb. 7, saying, “I might just sit at home and cry.” Well, Zac, I’m right there with you. Or I was, until I decided to prove that you can still have fun on Valentine’s Day as a single girl.

“I have a date with Russell— Russell Stover,” Chloe Civin ’13 teases. “He and I are very close.” I fleshed out a similar plan this year. My usual Valentine’s Day includes, but is not limited to, the following: eating a superfluous number of Dove chocolate nuggets, lamenting my first love, painting my fingernails fuchsia, listening to Frank Sinatra and wishing that Taylor Lautner would appear out of the woodwork with a mammoth red and white teddy bear for me like he did for Taylor Swift’s character in Valentine’s Day.

I guess that’s my idea of romance. It is also my idea of staying sane. Last year, I saw someone with a giant, pink balloon and, out of temporary jealous rage, tried to pop it without her noticing. I also ate my weight in pink and red candy corn. You win some, you lose some.

There is a sensitive stigma around Feb. 14.  If you are an independent, single and free-wheeling girl on Valentine’s Day, you can either absolutely hate the holiday (which is what I usually do – that and watch He’s Just Not That Into You for an embracing reality check) or just drink a lot of red wine. This season’s Valentine’s Day episode of Grey’s Anatomy featured a single Lexi Grey chomping down chocolates and fantasizing about getting Dr. McSteamy back while baby-sitting her sister’s beautiful new baby, Zola. What a pity party. Although a trite stereotype, I’m afraid it happens. Bitter girls call it “Singles Awareness Day,” but I have not stooped to that level. This year, I decided all of this was too pathetic to contemplate anymore, and I decided to find girls who knew they could do better.

“Valentine’s Day is actually my favorite holiday,” Stephanie Dowling ’12 optimistically claims. “It was always a big deal growing up in my family. We always had a nice dinner and exchanged gifts. Chocolate-covered strawberries are a must.” She is single this year, but is still spreading the love in her own way. Hillary Hyduke ’14 sent her friends Disney Princess perforated paper valentines from the drugstore that emulate the cards she gave to her classmates in elementary school.

The holiday is a great excuse for a little pampering. I’m single, so I deserve to feel pretty no matter what. Dowling got her nails done and had a mini spa day. “Love yourself. That’s what Valentine’s Day is,” she exclaims. It is a great excuse for indulging in flash-frozen cupcakes over-nighted from Crumbs Bakery or handfuls of Conversation Hearts. It’s a strategic opportunity to capitalize on any and all Valentine’s Day specials, deals and fixed-price menus. Plus, “a lot of people get down on Valentine’s Day,” Dowely also points out. It is a great excuse to find a significant other, immediately. I mean,who will send you flowers next Valentine’s Day?

I have never actually sent Godiva chocolates to myself à la Cher in Clueless, but if I don’t find a boyfriend who will send me an Edible Arrangement, it might come to that next year. You can be single and embrace some part of the culture surrounding Valentine’s Day. So, I’m not going to start crying — yet.

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