Valentine’s Day has increasingly become a whole other kind of holiday in college, where the “hook-up culture” lives and breathes. You either look forward to the holiday because you have been working on your homemade Pinterest card for days, or you dread Feb. 14 like the plague. People feel unnecessary pressure to have some sort of Valentines' plans, even when they are technically single and Valentine’s Day is marketed towards the lovey-dovey couples who display too much PDA. This often leads to awkward situations, because going on a date for Valentine’s Day when you hardly know the other person can, understandably, create issues. This isn’t a cynical article about how Valentine’s Day exists to make single people feel lonely, or for Hallmark to make a boat load of money, I’m not some mad-at-the-world cat lady with a box of chocolates next to me that I bought for myself (well, the mad-at-the-world cat lady part isn’t true at least…). I just feel that women in college do not need to be spending time in their early twenties worrying about finding a date.

I think part of the issue is that you are supposed to have a date on Valentine’s Day. You’re supposed to give and receive a card and small gift. You’re not supposed to stay home and watch Netflix with your other friends that don’t have plans. But, excuse me, why the hell not? I thank whoever thought of having "50 Shades of Grey" premiere on Saturday, because finally women can have a girl’s night out that they can look forward to.

Feb. 14 is just another day in 365, so if you’re the kind of girl that is feeling pressured to text the guy you have “sort of been talking to” for the last two weeks but aren’t really sure you even like him — but hey, it’s slim pickings, I get it girl — or desperately waiting to leave your Saturday night open for the guy “you've been hanging out with” for the past few months to see if he will pop the question asking you to be his, I just want to remind you that you are a woman. A beautiful woman. A beautiful woman in her early 20s, who has a lot of Valentine’s Days in the future (there’s one every year!) and who doesn’t need to be wasting her time waiting around for somebody she may not even like or really know. And if that said guy does ask you on a date, because he’s feeling pressured himself, be wary of his intentions. Also boys, please don’t be the guy that only asks because he doesn’t want to be the only bro without plans. Dinner and a movie doesn’t mean day old pizza and playing video games in your frat house. If you go on a date, try to make it nice, don’t let that outside pressure affect it. Don’t be afraid that just because it’s Valentine’s Day she thinks you’re having a June wedding, it’s just as awkward for her. And bring chocolate. Chocolate never hurts; so if the date goes bad, at least she has something to look forward to. You owe her that at the very least.

All I ask is don’t put yourself in an awkward situation just because the pressure to not be alone on Valentine’s Day is so strong in college, I guarantee you it will be a worse night than just staying in with friends. Don’t waste your time trying to decipher texts or staring longingly at your phone, complaining to your roommates that he STILL hasn’t asked to make plans with you this weekend. And don’t go to speed dating at the Union, that’s weird too. College is complicated enough.