Cupid Is Stupid

Living – not surviving, not searching for the next love, but living – single is often quite enjoyable. An abundance of activities is normally available for people to do with good friends without needing a significant other. In fact, I love not having to consider someone else in my daily decisions: chips and ice cream for dinner, it is. I am definitely not doing the dishes today, and undergarments (or outer garments) are optional. Even during these times of living under restrictions, being single is far from miserable. When I passed through the phases of enjoying the quarantine, going stir crazy, becoming lazy, and then getting motivated, I started working on a number of things that I have wanted to do if ever I had the time. Things were starting to look up until . . . Valentine’s Day.

I have had friends who opted to wear black on Valentine’s Day. As a matter of fact, one random summer day, I went to see a friend play soccer. It took me a moment to realize why she poured water on me. I was wearing a pink shirt. What is one of the main colors associated with Valentine’s Day? You guessed it. Whether you live in casual defiance of the holiday or whether you have a visceral response to its ideals, I have devised a playlist to get you through the season.

Some people are unlucky in love, never having had someone even express romantic interest toward them. Some people are bad at love, and it just doesn’t work out for them. The images of people on social media and on the big screen are both repulsive and captivating. We see the perceived delight of relationships, but our experiences remind us that such things are not so. We are repulsed by people we know who seem to be living that lavish love life (unless we know the side that does not show up in their newsfeed). However we came to our respective positions, our playlist starts with the Beatles’ “One Is the Loneliest Number.” Before you complain that we are defying the purpose of the playlist, consider this. We must embrace that hurt and rejection so we can move on to that blissful life.

After accepting the loneliness, but certainly not dwelling in it, we jump into the upbeat “Love Is a Battlefield” by Pat Benatar. This reminds us of how torturous relationships can be. This fight song gets us motivated to move on to the next things. Moving on can be terrifying and lonely. To avoid regressing into our feelings, Wilson Philips’s “Hold On” powers us through by reminding us that we can get through to the next thing if we hold on. Not only will we power through, but also will we not look back.

I will not look back at the lost love or rejection from that one who never looked back at me. Instead, I embrace my inner En Vogue because they are never going get it, “My Lovin.’” [Notice how I am feeling so good now that I have dropped the “we,” and I am ready to go solo.] Now I am jazzed. I am feeling bold and energized. Then comes the reminder from Ace of Base about “The Sign.” Who is going to drag me up to get into that light where we belong? Apparently, no one. My eyes are open, and I am ready for action. Cyndi Lauper said it best when she said “Girls just want to have fun.” I can have fun without a mate, but . . . what do I do? Where do I channel this energy?

Fats Waller sat down and wrote himself a letter. He pretended it came from his love interest. I will sit down and figure out what I wanted in the first place from that reject that rejected me. I will figure out how I can get it in other ways.

Now that the list is complete, I start to waver. Am I losing my nerve? “Oh no, not I.” Gloria Gaynor said, “I will survive.” Here I am again, ready to roll. Then Pharrell Williams starts resonating with me as he sang to me about how nothing is going to bring me down. I am feeling “Happy.” And at last, just for fun, I throw on “What’s Opera, Doc?” because I love that silly rabbit.