You did it! You scrolled through all the sappy captions on Instagram, saw all the stories of flowers and chocolate on snapchat, and even withstood the surprise proposal video on Facebook. As a member of the single’s club, you survived Valentine’s Day.
So, what’s in it for you?
Every year, February 15th is known as Single’s Awareness Day (that’s right, the acronym is “SAD”). On this day, single people everywhere celebrate their singleness by exchanging gifts with one another, mingling, and appreciating each other’s friendship.
Here are some simple ways to celebrate Single’s Awareness Day:
Go see a movie with friends! Whether you stay in and find a Netflix original or go to your local theater, spend time laughing (or screaming) with your fellow single pals. Let it serve as a reminder of how great your friendships are. It will leave you more thankful for your friends than pitiful about your love life.
Show someone kindness or love who needs it. Pay for the person’s coffee in front of you, hold the door for the person behind you, or compliment a stranger. Small acts like this go along way. It could be just what a person needs who may have had a rough Valentine’s Day, just like you.
Allow yourself to indulge. Buy the shirt, eat another cookie, sleep in the extra hour, etc. Whatever you choose to do, keep it within reason and see it as a way of acknowledging your singleness. Give yourself some grace and celebrate your independence!
Lastly, affirm your friends and the people you care about through words, gifts, time, etc. Let them know how much they mean to you. Even though you may not have a valentine, hopefully have people in your life who you love and trust. This is the perfect opportunity to show them appreciation.
Don’t let February 15th become a pity party. Celebrate the non-romantic relationships in your life and let gratitude be your guide! Happy SAD…how will you celebrate?
-Brooke Sanderson
IMC Hawks Blog 
This post definitely reminded me of made up names for Valentine’s day to celebrate even though you are single. Galentine’s Day is just an example where girls gather together and celebrate the friendships they have with each other instead of being with a significant other. Even Palentine’s Day is a thing, a day to appreciate your friends and pals instead of being sucked into the sappy love content of Valentine’s Day.
Hi Brooke! I loved this article! I think it’s so important to remind ourselves that romantic love is not the only love. People can be so caught up in finding “the one” that often times they never stop to think that maybe “the one” is themselves! Loving your friends, family, and your own self is important and valentines day doesn’t have to be about having a romantic partner.
I really loved this article! It reminded me a lot of Galentine’s Day, which is said to be on the 13th of February. This is just a time to get together with your friends (even if they have boyfriends too), and just celebrate being together and not worrying about the stresses and all the sappiness of Valentines Day.
Your title really pulled me in and interested me in what I was going to read! I also am a big fan of new girl so that’s always a plus! I enjoyed your article being straight and to the point. Also, the suggestions for what singles can do on SAD was a good added bonus so your audience could imagine what you can actually do on Singles Awareness Day.
I’ve always seen valentines day and that month as a time to show all of my friends and family how much I love them. On the day after this past valentines day I made dinner for all of my friends in celebration. Recently I’ve started to see a lot more people doing this too and it makes me very happy. I used to see valentines day as just another hallmark holiday to spoil your significant other but its important to not forget to celebrate platonic love too wether youre in a relationship or not.
I’m not currently single but i do know the feeling of being single around Valentines day and for me personally it sucked! But i did have amazing friends and we would always get together for this dreaded holiday and stay in watch Romantic movies, cry, eat candy, ice cream, and order some pizza. Now that my friends and I are all dating usually we celebrate Galentines day together and are with our significant other on V-day. So if I’m ever single again (fingers crossed) I now know there is another holiday for me to celebrate.
I loved reading this post because it reminded me of the importance of loving yourself. It is important during the Valentine’s season, whether or not you have a significant other, to show your love to your friends and loved ones as well. It’s okay to be single and I think all of these new added days, like Galentine’s day, are really helping the singles out there not be sad and still spread love.
In the past I used to be upset when I was single on Valentine’s Day. Now I spend the time to treat myself and to make myself happy. Just because I’m single on Valentine’s Day does not mean I’m sad that I’m not in a relationship. In this post I like how it focuses on loving yourself, reminding your friends or family that you love them, and complementing a stranger. Why stop there? We should continue to promote self-love, to show love towards friends/family, and complement a stranger from time to time regardless if it’s Single Awareness Day.