Come February, most Pilots tend to feel more suffocated than usual by the pressure to be dating. Regardless of whether or not you have dinner reservations with bae next Tuesday night, The Beacon challenges you to realize that this is likely the only time in your life when you will be able to fully prioritize your own self interest and thriving.
If your boo encourages you to do these things, great.
These four years are your opportunity to focus on yourself— you should be finding yourself, discovering your passions, constantly adding and subtracting from your list of possibilities as you experience new things. This is probably the only time in your life that you will be able to put this much energy into yourself and your future. Make the most out of it. Don’t fall into the trap that tells you you’re not complete without a significant other.
This Valentine’s Day, regardless of your relationship status, The Beacon wants to remind you, in the words of Kendrick Lamar, ‘that it’s gon’ be alright’.
Maybe your parents met in their freshmen year of college. Maybe they expected you to lock eyes with your soulmate during orientation weekend. Maybe you expected that, too. Pressure to be in a committed relationship is coming at young people from every direction, what with photos of engagement rings all over Facebook and save-the-date cards clogging up your mailbox. Despite the fact that UP isn’t necessarily known as being a ‘ring by spring’ school, most people still feel that if they don’t find ‘the one’ in college, they might not ever.
If you have found the one, congrats. The awkward questions from grandma about your special someone are probably easier to handle when your significant other isn't your plush XXL body pillow. We hope that your relationship is healthy and that it encourages the prosperity of your personal and professional development.
If it is not, we encourage you to take the fall and end it now. Contrary to popular fairy tale dogma, the clock striking midnight doesn’t mean that you don’t have time to find a great life partner.
If you haven’t found the right relationship, don’t worry about it. Make V-day all about you.
If you are focusing on yourself this Valentine’s Day, here are some awesome ways to spend it: organize a V-day themed gift exchange with your single friends, take yourself out to a fabulous Portland restaurant, throw a Galentine's Day brunch party, make a mood board, set goals, apply for an internship, buff up your resume, take the bus to sheBOP, or drink pink wine in the basement of Mehling. Don’t get a Tinder. Or do. Whatever you do, remember that your value doesn’t come from your relationship status, or how many red roses you receive come Tuesday.
