Every year, Valentine’s Day rolls around and many people either spend time with their partner, friends or family in a show of love. Though some may admit the holiday has become commercialized, Valentine’s Day isn’t exactly my ideal way of showing my love, or lack thereof. Instead of celebrating Valentine’s Day, I along with many other people celebrate Single Awareness Day on February 15.

Single Awareness Day, also called Single Appreciation Day or S.A.D., came about as a means of having a way for people to celebrate their single independence. The reason it’s celebrated on February 15 is because that’s when all of the Valentine’s Day chocolate goes on sale. In China, this holiday is celebrated on November 11 and is called Single’s Day. The number for that day would line up to be 11/11.

Residential Dining had their own way of celebrating today, with a chocolate fountain for the “Lonely Hearts”. However, one aspect of the holiday is that people don’t necessarily need to be in a relationship to be happy in life. Some activities for the day include volunteering, traveling and hanging out with your single friends. My version of celebrating the holiday is to go out and buy some chocolate because it is so much cheaper.

I decided to go to the Target on Elmwood Avenue to celebrate Single Awareness Day with a friend of mine. We were excited about all the different chocolates we would be able to buy, however, once we arrived we were ready for anything. Every time my friends and I celebrate Single Awareness Day, we always have a battle plan ready because kids can be warriors of candy.

Our battle plan was simple. Don’t trust children, they want the candy just as much. Their parents are in on the kid’s plan and are not to be trusted because they can fight you on a professional level. Finally, and most important, all hair must be tied up and not lose because kids can drag you by those for miles on end.

As we found the aisle with the Valentine’s Day candy, we were dismayed to find that most of the candy was gone. All that was left were about thirty boxes of Fun Dip, twenty oversized individual Hershey Kisses, and an assortment of boxes of chocolate. Soon we found all the items we wanted for ourselves, and to “give to other people”. In reality, that meant to keep for ourselves as well.

Usually, all of the chocolates and candies are 50 percent off, but this time most of them were only 30 percent off. While that is a great deal, it’s not as good as it has been in past years. In the end, I only ended up spending about twenty dollars on all of my candy, which even included a movie pack with popcorn and some boxes of M&M’s.

Once I dropped my friend off at Buffalo State, I went home and realized that I had too much Fun Dip. Although, I’m pretty sure that’s not a problem. Having too much Fun Dip is never actually a problem

For all of the single people that get a little sad seeing people in relationships, just remember… a little half-price chocolate makes everything better.