Valentine’s Day is coming up quickly, and according to a non-scientific survey conducted by The Lance with 587 responses, 61 percent of students are single. However, that doesn’t mean they are lonely. Forty-seven percent of survey respondents reported that they don’t feel lonely on Valentine’s Day, and 26.9 percent said they were lonely only sometimes. Instead of being sad during this love-fest holiday, The Lance is here to recommend some ways to help you get through the day when it’s you, yourself and loneliness. 

Tip Number 1: Treat yourself. In the survey, 28.6 percent of Westside students said they spend Valentine’s Day alone Instead, they can watch movies, sleep, or bake cookies or another treat. 

Tip Number 2:  Spend time with people you love. Twenty-four percent of students said that during Valentine’s Day, they spend time with friends, and 28.6 percent said they spend time with family. Valentine’s Day doesn’t just need to be about romance. It can be a time to celebrate anyone in your life that you appreciate.

Tip Number 3: Eat food that makes you happy. According to health instructor Brody Schmaderer, “food, in general, makes you feel good.”  Whenever we eat food, our body releases dopamine. While 50.1 percent of students said they usually eat what they normally eat on a normal day, other students that answered the survey said they eat other things like candies and chocolates. Valentine’s Day gives you the perfect opportunity to indulge — if you ever feel lonely, sometimes just the tiniest amount of food can do wonders. 

Tip Number 4: Just be you. Forty-two percent of students who answered the survey said they just follow their normal routine, and that’s totally okay. Don’t feel any pressure to buy into the holiday. If you don’t know how to spend Valentine’s Day, it’s completely okay to treat it as a normal day.