For many Provo singles, the Valentine's holiday can be met with anything from celebrations of friendship to an indifferent routine.
While Valentine's Day focuses on romantic connections, singles also observe the holiday by celebrating relationships with friends and family.
Galentine's Day is a day to honor female friendships. As Galentine’s celebrations have grown in popularity over the years, many women report that they love celebrating Valentine's Day with their girlfriends.
Madi Kelley, a BYU marketing student, shared her opinions on Valentine's Day celebrations.
“Right now I'm single, so it's a lot more fun with just friends," Kelley said. "I think Valentine's Day is for the girls, and because we're in Provo and we have a lot of people our age and a lot of girls here, it's fun to have Valentine's with the girls. “
Women in Provo reported that most had at least one, if not more, Valentine's parties to attend this year. As for single men living in Provo, Aaron McCoy, a BYU informations system student, shared his thoughts on Valentine's Day celebrations as a single man living in the Provo area.
“In modern tradition, it's a day for couples to celebrate, acknowledge and set time aside for their love for each other. And for single people such as myself, it just doesn't relate. I just have no reason to be invested,” McCoy said.
While almost all women, single or not, reported having a plan for Feb. 14, men are in a different position.
“I've talked to some of my friends who are guys about Valentine's Day who weren't dating anyone and they're like, 'Well, I don't know what I'm gonna do that day,' but then all the girls I've talked to who are single, they have Galantines or they just feel more positive about the day, generally for whatever reason,” Kelley said.
While many men reported that they do not plan to do anything other than go about their usual day for Valentine's, Carter Bird, a BYU philosophy and religion student, shared his personal love for Valentine's and the meaning behind it.
“I love Valentine's Day. I think life should be celebrated, every excuse that we can get. And I think that relationships, if we truly believe that relationships are like the entire purpose of life, then I think, of course, they should be the thing that should be celebrated the most,” Bird said.
Pua Makihele, a BYU marketing student, said that she believes choosing to celebrate Valentine's as a single person comes down to personality more than gender. She also shared that she feels there is a lot of pressure to find a date for Valentine's and to do something special on the day.
“You can find a time to do a nice thing for someone or show that you care for someone like any other day of the week, month or year,” Makihele said.
Bird continued to share that he feels Valentine's Day is important to express any love this time of year. As many couples will be getting together on Valentine's, single people report that they, too, have some celebrating to do.
“If you can't celebrate a romantic relationship that you have, then just take a step back and take it as an opportunity to celebrate other relationships that you have, like friends and family. I think it's an excuse to be around people and to let the people that are close to you know that you're grateful for them,” Bird said.