Happy V-Day!

The holiday season is filled with minefields for single people. The months between November and February can be hell for someone unattached as you watch your friends get engaged under the mistletoe at Christmas, attend New Year's Eve parties together, and then make lovey eyes at each other over Valentine's Day.

As torturous as Valentine's Day is for most single girls, a lot of them breathe a sigh of relief as soon as it's over, because it means the end of this period of being regularly reminded that you are alone. For me, it lasts a little longer, because my birthday is 3 weeks after Valentine's Day, so I usually wait until March 8th to officially exhale.

This is only the third year in my life that I've been through the holiday grind on my own. And I won't sugarcoat it - the first year was horribly depressing and I only got through it with copious amounts of alcohol. The second year was characterized by anticipation of the horridness, and reciprocating with nonstop coping mechanisms all winter.

Oh, that and getting the flu several times, which meant that I spent last Valentine's Day in bed with a 102 degree fever, watching old episodes of The West Wing. All in all, it wasn't a bad V-Day. I know at least one person (S, I'm looking at you) for which that would be the ideal day. Minus the fever, of course.

This past year has been the first that I've been comfortable with my single status. I suppose the third time's the charm, or maybe I can attribute it to a fun-filled holiday season packed with friends' parties, a trip to Puerto Rico with my family, and a not-so-interesting guy on the side who made up for his lack of intellect with his convenience.

It's also possible that I've just gotten used to the idea of being single on holidays, and am making the most of it. The first year I was still getting over my ex, the second I was adjusting to the idea of being on my own and constantly getting ill, and now I'm just used to it. I'm not sure if that idea is depressing or empowering, but I'm going to go with the latter.

Any which way, I'm no longer depressed/angry over the idea of Valentine's Day. After all, it's just another day, and I'm celebrating by heading up to my parents' house to eat lots of food and watch movies with my girlfriends, which is quite possibly the best way to spend any day, not just a sappy holiday I dislike to begin with.

So, everyone, embrace the last holiay of the season that reminds you what it's like not to be part of a duo, get together with the one(s) you love, and stock up on 50% off candy at the drustore on Monday!