Seemingly every year, the Web has an article bashing Valentine’s Day. They claim it’s commercialist, sexist, unnecessary, and have plenty more criticisms. Guess what? It can be. But that’s no reason to hate on people who do celebrate it.

I’ve gone many, many Valentine’s Days without someone to celebrate with, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let some cynical classmates rain on my parade now that I do. Last year, I received a plate of delicious chocolate brownies in lieu of roses or stuffed animals. I had to keep myself from eating the entire plate in front of him- you’re supposed to act a bit classy, right?

Anyway, after that gift, it should come as little surprise that my anniversary is a week after Valentine’s Day. This allows us the option of combining and celebrating at the same time, and avoiding the exorbitantly high prices of the 14th. This brings me to my point: if you have an issue with some part of Valentine’s Day, instead of complaining to people who don’t care, either one, ignore it or two, change it yourself! Here’s a list of common complaints, and how to avoid the issues in your celebration of the day of love.

Complaint: All of these people are couple-y and gross. Get a room!

Solution: There’s no easy solution to this. It isn’t exactly socially acceptable to break up kissy couples in the halls, but you also would like to keep your lunch down. In order to minimize your chances of running into people sucking face, I’ve compiled a list of areas to avoid: alcoves (such as those around drinking fountains), the back lobby in general, the woods/language hallway, the music and art wings, and anywhere someone believes a teacher won’t happen by for a few minutes. That’s right, your best solution here is to either wear a blindfold or don’t come to school.

Complaint: Everything is so expensive!

Solution: No one wants to waste money, least of all broke high schoolers. So, delay your celebration for a day or two, and get all your Valentine’s Day needs- on clearance! Bonus tip: offer to babysit siblings or family friends on Valentine’s Day and rake in the cash from grateful parents. You’ve now got enough to buy your gifts, and maybe some to spare!

Complaint: I don’t have a boy/girlfriend. This holiday sucks.

Solution: Some single people people take this day as an excuse to feel sorry for themselves and make everyone in a relationship feel bad. But it doesn’t have to be that way! There’s plenty of ways to celebrate without a significant other. Have a girls’ or guys’ night, ask out the cutie you’ve been eyeing in algebra, or you could just eat ice cream and watch The Notebook by yourself. Whatever you’re into.

There’s countless excuses people use to justify hating Valentine’s Day, but when it comes down to it, you control how much fun your day is. Hopefully, some of these tips help combat stress so you can focus on loving your Valentine’s Day!