Valentine’s Day is rapidly approaching… again.
If you have followed me on Twitter for long enough, I’m sure you know… I’ve been in relationships before. Not many, but enough. “Enough” that the fact I have spent every Valentine’s Day for the 22 years of my life on this Earth…. single?… Is quite ridiculous and offensive to me, personally.
I had a boyfriend for two years… and he broke up with me the month before Valentine’s Day… twice. Literally, two years in a row. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
As such, I’m sort of an expert at single Valentine’s Day. Whether it be freshly after a break-up, or whether I’ve been single for… years. I‘m like Jesus to the chronically single.
Some don’t acknowledge or celebrate Valentine’s Day, because… technically it isn’t quite a “real” or “major” holiday. A boring way to live, if you ask me! Valentine’s Day is what you make it! Single or otherwise. It doesn’t have to be… capitalistic, it can just be… fun! I love celebrating things for no specific reason. All so often I will just take myself out for a little celebration or treat, just for being alive. Valentine’s Day giving me an excuse is always well appreciated!
I’ve composed a list of things for single people to do on Valentine’s Day. Well, a list of media to consume, more appropriately. I do support going out for Valentine’s Day, but giving recommendations for where you should go is less impactful because… I don’t know what places my 1,000 readers have near them. What am I supposed to do? Become Google Maps? I trust you all know where you would like to go out. Be careful, though. Don’t get the Coronavirus! I’ve been there, it’s rough.
High Fidelity (2020)
This, despite being canceled after one season, has remained amongst my top favorite shows for just about three years now. Everybody moved on, I stayed there. It’s also the quintessential break up-single girl Valentine’s Day show, too. It’s the only cynically romantic property I have listed. Almost everything else I have listed leans more heavily into the romanticized romance, this is more focused on the “single” part of the “Single Girl Valentine watchlist” title.
It follows Zoë Kravitz’s character : Rob, a record store owner, who has a history of failed relationships. She messes up her last relationship real bad and decides to go through her list of greatest heartbreaks in attempt to get closure, and to figure out if she might be the problem. At the same time as this, she has a growing relationship with Jake Lacy’s character, and she also hooks up with musician Thomas Doherty along the way! His best performance, by the way. Everybody delivers career best work, actually.
It’s worth noting I have never watched the film, I never read the book, neither are my business. You’d think because I’m such a fan, I would check them out.. I’ve certainly considered it! I meant to. Especially the film considering Lisa Bonet is in it and all, but… alas, I have not. I have watched the Hulu series four times in full, though! I will probably commence my fourth watch-through… as soon as I’m done typing, really.
DUNKIN’ DONUTS HEART-SHAPED DOUGHNUTS.
This isn’t media, it’s just a February staple.
If you don’t like Dunkin’, it can be any other doughnut ; if you don’t like doughnuts, it can be any heart shaped dessert, but wow. These are necessities for the Valentine’s Day era to me. I can’t go a year without getting these bad bitches! Self-explanatory entry.
I don’t love the brownie batter type, I much prefer the strawberry frosted-cream filling but they’re always out of the right doughnuts, so… I take what I can get. While on the subject, I love those heart-shaped boxes of assorted chocolate. I don’t care much for the chocolatre itself, nor do I eat much of it, but I love the festivity.
DIVORCE ALBUMS (30, Star-Crossed)
These albums have gotten bad reputations from social media, the news, and the media. 30 less so, considering a song from it just won a Grammy and it was just nominated for Album of the Year, but still it got a less stellar fan response compared to her previous work. Almost nobody likes Star-Crossed, especially in comparison to the almost universally beloved Golden Hour. I like both of these albums a lot, and I think they both hit especially differently when you are single on Valentine’s Day! You just understand what they’re going through. Divorce albums are a tale as old as time. I chose two of the more recent examples, but you all can just choose whichever album you may so prefer. I have a few playlists that capture this vibe, but one specifically about divorce that I will link here.
No, they aren’t all about divorce nor are the artists all divorced, but it captures a vibe. This also works for girls in their break-up era.
Valentine’s Day (2010)
This might just be one you had to be there for. I watched this when I was 10 years old, so naturally I thought it was the best movie ever made. I don’t watch it every year, but I used to go out of my way to make it a Cinematic Event to watch this in my living room every February 14th. Make no mistake, I will never try to critically defend it. My better judgment cries out, begging for me to listen to it, but it’s simply a classic in my household. It’s the Queen Latifah-Taylor Swift-Jessica Alba-Shirley Maclaine collaboration society didn’t know it needed. Also, it’s Megan Suri’s earliest film credit. I love Megan Suri.
Perhaps I will revisit it this year and it will open my eyes to the truth. It’s been a while since the last time I pressed play on this. For now, though? It makes it onto my roster of Valentine’s Day staples for the single girls.
This is not a film review newsletter, it’s a guidebook. My recommendation is that if you, reader, have friends that have seen this film and you have not, do a watch party! It’ll be more fun that way.
THE JANE AUSTEN COLLECTION.
Both the books and their adaptations. Genuinely think Jane Austen invented the romance genre. Emma will always be my favorite, I bring that up as much as I can because I believe it to be the most excellent piece of literature. It’s also quite a great storytelling template, I have yet to see an adaptation of Emma in which I didn’t absolutely love. The Gwyneth Paltrow version, the Anya Taylor-Joy version, Clueless. Everybody loves Pride and Prejudice and I do, too, but if you come out of this with anything on your mind, perhaps let it be Emma. I know it’s already… iconic, but I, too, feel passionately about it. I was at a Barnes & Noble and I convinced an elderly woman into buying a copy. It’s sort of my life’s mission now to use my influence as much as I humanly can to get Emma sales and streams up!
THE EMILY HENRY COLLECTION.
Whilst on topic of books, People We Meet On Vacation is one of the greatest romance novels I have read in the past year. Beach Read holds up as well, and though I haven’t read Book Lovers yet, I trust Emily Henry’s pen with my life. Spending your Valentine’s Day reading perhaps is a hard sell, but if you need a place to start while searching for romance book recommendations, I would consider Emily Henry.
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)
I don’t give Netflix much. But the chemistry between Lana Condor and Noah Centineo was just too good. Not many modern romcoms have been able to capture… an essence of liking one another in the same way this one did. I believe them. I don’t recommend the sequels, but honestly… the central romance is just so good to watch, it’s not like I can say don’t watch them. If you think about it, are Lara Jean’s letters not just Valentine’s in a way? So it fits the theme, too.
I asked my followers what films, shows or songs they associate with Valentine’s Day, and this was easily amongst the most voted titles. For a good reason! It both captures the energy of Valentine’s Day, and each film was released around that time, I believe. A Valentine’s Day classic, truly.
I have not read the books for this either, but I have watched The Summer I Turned Pretty! Moving on.
Cinderella (1997)
This is one I’m not really sure if I can explain as to why I would associate it with Valentine’s Day, outside of it just being a Fairy Tale romance. I just simply tend to revisit it on Valentine’s Day, and that’s been my criteria for… most, if not all, of the things listed. It’s also just one of my favorite Fairy Tale films and my favorite Cinderella retelling. Brandy, Whitney Houston and Bernadette Peters just make the music so brilliant, and the romance between Brandy and Paolo Montalban is top tier. The material is so real.
Abbott Elementary, Season 2, Episode 14.
This just happened this past week, but can I just say the scene where Gregory gave Amber the legos, and Mo gave Janine the Telfar bag, and their reactions made it obvious they were with the wrong guy… the scene in the break room where all of the teachers know Janine and Gregory like each other… real romance is back! Already a Valentine’s Day staple in my books, and let me just say… when Janine and Gregory get together… Quinta, look at me, we need another Valentine’s Day episode. Make it a tradition. I need an episode where they are together on Valentine’s Day. I’m begging.
I suppose this didn’t have to be a Single Valentine’s Day guidebook. I’m sure couples could watch, read, listen to, eat, everything I listed as well. I just assume if you are in a relationship you’re doing things with your partner anyways and don’t need my newsletter for advice. I speak for the people who need a cute little guide! Anyways, I hope you all are having a lovely Valentine’s Day era regardless. I’m single now, and have been for quite some time, but I love a little party by myself anyways. I will be working, but trust I will be romanticizing every second of my existence tomorrow! It isn’t all about media consumption at all, even if that’s what everything I’ve previously typed suggests. I will be in my self-care, self-love, self-celebration era for the next 36 hours! I’m my own Valentine for the 22nd year in a row, after all. Even if you ignore everything else I say, just make yourself your own Valentine this year. Invest in your own self-care. Whatever that may look like for you.
Happy Valentine’s Day, goodbye!