Ike Smith, an undeclared freshman from Singapore, echoes hundreds, if not thousands of single people, men and women, as they describe their Valentine’s Day plans this year. For singles, Valentine’s Day can turn into a bitter, black-hearted affair, or a chance to retreat into one’s cave and hide from the seeming legions of couples haunting the streets. While there is a stigma for single women that Valentine’s Day must throw them into a severe, 24-hour depression, men seem to go through Valentine’s Day unscathed as bachelors. “Valentine’s Day for the single guy? I can go to the beach and I don’t have to spend any money. It’s just another day,” said Smith. Though a freshman, Smith’s observations about the holiday of love sound similar to senior Cameron Kerr’s feelings. “I think it’s not that big of a deal for guys as it is for girls, obviously. I think that it’s kind of like when you see all your friends dating or getting married when they get back from their missions. It’s kind of an annoying holiday. It seems kind of dumb, but it’s not like I’m going to cry myself to sleep,” said the finance major from California.While describing Valentine’s Day with a significant other, Kerr explained, “It’s fun.” If men don’t seem to have a particularly strong feeling towards Valentine’s Day, it might just be in their nature. It’s not their fault, says Dr. Louann Brizendine, a psychologist and author of “The Female Brain.” A doctor researching women’s psychology, Dr. Brizendine notes men feel an inch and women feel a mile on an emotional spectrum. Hormones and the physical make-up of men’s brains influence this emotional range, making Valentine’s Day, and other events, not as big a deal as it is for women.Men, though less emotional about the holiday, understand the problems facing single people on Valentine’s Day. “You don’t need to find someone to appease a standard,” said William Walter Arnett III, a junior in music performance from Arizona. Half the struggle of Valentine’s Day is the comparison between one’s single self to coupled people, but “Valentine’s Day is not some horrendous moment for me because I’m single,” said Arnett. He reminded the single men and women of Valentine’s Day 2015 that they should be no less happy and are no less wonderful for being single and watching Netflix all day. “Do you really need someone else to be valuable? You’re you. You are valuable. No one should feel bad about Valentine’s Day. It’s just part of life.”
Writer: Alyssa Walhood
