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Life&Style

 

How to survive Valentine’s Day if you’re single

By Livia Turnbull

ell, it’s that time of year
again. Valentine’s Day.
Or, as the bitter, cynical

people like to call it, Single’s
Awareness That This is a Made-up
Holiday Day (Single’s Awareness
Day for short). Whether you're pro-
or anti-Valentine’s Day, that doesn’t
change the fact that February 14 is
just another day. Yet, we still get
love, romance, and sex thrown at us
through advertisements, significant
others, or that lovey-dovey couple
in the park. You can’t escape it. The
only way to get through this day is
to survive it. Luckily, I’ve complied
a few tips to get you through.

Get out of the house and have
some fun with your single friends.
I know you probably don’t

want to go out on Valentine’s

Day. You have to deal with people
making out in parking lots,

gazing into each other’s eyes at
restaurants, and reciting bad poetry

Balancing school and work:

 

By Dominique Leclair

chool is a lot of work. Long
Gers Little sleep. Impending
deadlines. Every student,

regardless of the program, will
tell you how challenging it can be
to juggle three or more courses,
with each instructor expecting that
you will make his or her course
your priority. Now add the weight
of a full or part-time job. The
responsibilities and demands on
your time are at a crossroad. Which
one becomes the priority? Who do
you say yes to? Who do you say no
to?

For some of us, having a job
isn’t really a choice. I mean it is;
we all choose to do or not do things,
but when rent is due and hydro
bills are coming in (I’m a big fan
of electricity) and the student
loans aren’t stretching as far as the
government thinks they should,
what do students do? They get a
job. And this is where the fun really
begins.

to their significant others in the
college hallways. While watching
porn and crying into a can of your
favourite beer may seem like the
best alternative, it isn’t. Make some
plans with some single friends

and go out to a fun place, like a
karaoke bar. Sing a few anti-love
songs, like Meatloat’s “Paradise by

to just not think about them. You
could bury yourself in that term
paper or longtime project, but

that really isn’t a fun evening

for anyone. Instead you could
volunteer at your local soup
kitchen, animal shelter, or nonprofit
organization of choice. Valentine’s
Day is the holiday of love, so show

“While watching porn and crying into a can of your favourite
beer may seem like the best alternative, it isn’t.”

the Dashboard Light,” REM’s “The
One I Love,” or Pearl Jam’s “Better
Man.” Whatever you do, don’t let
the couples shut you in.

If all your friends are busy,

do something nice for your
community.

If your friends are spending
the day with their dates, it might
be harder to shake off that “forever
alone” feeling. The best way is

some love to your community.
Think positive thoughts and be
patient.

Look, just because you’ re
spending this Valentine’s Day alone
doesn’t mean it will be this way
forever. Sometimes you just have
to weather through on your own.
But, if you really want someone
to spend Valentine’s with next
year, you’re going to have to take

 

Whether you plan it or not,
there will come a time when school
and work will conflict and you will
have to decide which will come
first. Each path comes with its own
unique benefits and consequences.
It’s your responsibility to decide
if going to work and delaying
studying for an exam or revising
an essay outweighs the money for
working, or, if saying no to a shift

or missing work is the better choice.

How do you decide? Consider
your options and what your
motivations are. If you chose to
go back to school to improve your
quality of life, get a better job, and
hopefully increase your finances,
does this mean that you sacrifice
getting real food for a few days and
miss that shift? Eat mac’n’ cheese
or ramen noodles, like they do in
bad sitcoms? Or if you miss that
shift you may be putting your job
in jeopardy, and then it isn’t only
a few poor meals, but possible
eviction if you can’t make rent.
Maybe getting a bad mark on that

 

a look at yourself and think, “Is
there anything I can do to change
my attitude?” Most people don’t
like spending their days with bitter
friends.

It’s hard trying to be non-
cynical on Valentine’s Day, but
you can do it. Just remember to be
positive on the other 364 days of the
year. If you work on being positive,
maybe someday you'll experience
the magic of Valentine’s Day with
the one you love.

 

how do you choose?

exam or essay is a small sacrifice
in the big picture of your school
career.

Juggling priorities is a fact of
life, a fact that can be overwhelming
for many students, but good

when the paycheque is clearly more
important; thinking long-term, you
will see that sometimes it isn’t the
worst thing to get a lower grade on
a minor assignment.

School is short-term. It will only

“Juggling priorities is a fact of life, a fact that can be overwhelming
for many students, but good practice in the long-term.”

practice in the long-term. It is about
choosing what is most important
to you, and considering the
repercussions of that choice now
and in the future. Your priorities
may change. Today school comes
first, tomorrow it may be work.
During finals, school will likely
be the priority; how many marks
are given in that one week? On
the other hand, there will be times

last a few years. Complete your
courses, graduate, and move on.
These are dilemmas you may face
in the future; the “right” answer
isn’t always easy or quick to figure
out. This is what life is about and
these are hard lessons to learn at
times.

But remember, they are also the
necessary and important ones.

 

THE VEGAN SHOP

 

CANADA

 

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New Westminster, BC VM 145

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