It's Feb. 14 and everyone is either leaving for an elaborately planned date or watching sad movies, eating junk food and complaining about their lack of a significant other.
Then there are those who have a significant other but are still doomed to the same fate as the bitter junk food eating sad movie group. This is because they are away from their significant others on Valentine's Day - and most other days.
"Cory and I have been together for almost three years," said Brittany Petrarca, a junior speech and hearing major. "This will be the first Valentine's Day that we've spent apart."
Petrarca transferred to UB this semester, leaving her boyfriend Cory Crafts at the University at Plattsburgh eight hours away. They will be celebrating the holiday of love at a distance.
"The hardest thing about being apart on Valentine's Day is watching other people with their boyfriends and girlfriends, knowing that Britt is so far away," said Crafts, a junior math education major at Plattsburgh.
Most couples that have been together for a year or more are apt to have their own special traditions, but being apart on Valentine's Day doesn't have to be horrible and depressing. It may seem like the obvious choice to wallow in self-pity, but doing something special for the other person can make the separation easier. Send each other e-cards or a valentine care package.
Instead of celebrating on Wednesday, some long distance couples make plans to celebrate on the weekend. They mail a homemade card or a pre-Valentine's Day gift to make each other feel special, and reserve fun activities like dinner, seeing a movie or spending a romantic night in for when they can see each other in person.
"Normally Cory would show up at my dorm with a gift. One year it was roses and a card," Petrarca said. "It's sad that he won't be able to do that this year because we are so far apart, but I'm going to visit him later in the week so it's really not that bad because being with him is all that counts."
Sometimes being apart on Valentine's Day has its advantages. Presents don't have to be bought before Valentine's Day if celebrating the Friday or Saturday afterwards. Dinner reservations don't have to be made in advance, and there won't be any worries about the movie selling out.
"I think celebrating on another day is just as special as celebrating on the intended day," Crafts said. "Why should your love on a given day be more important than any other? With no intention on sounding clich?(c), love should be unconditional."
Because they will be celebrating on a different day, Crafts and Petrarca feel as if they are going to have their own special, private Valentine's Day, which is better than sharing a day with millions of other people.
"The whole long distance thing sucks and sometimes it seems like it's not worth it," Petrarca said. "But it comes down to how much you love each other. If you love each other enough, then you'll make the effort and it will be worth it in the end."
