Ah, love.

Such a wonderful, mysterious phenomenon. For those of us who own stock in Hallmark or have a significant other, February snow is romantic and dreamy. For everyone else, it can accentuate embittered and hopeless feelings about Cupid ignoring us for the rest of eternity and spending the rest of our days in solitude.

But St. Valentine never meant to damage our fragile, hormonal egos, and being single should be celebrated just as passionately as being in love.

Instead of boycotting February 14, I've come up with a list of comforting and festive rituals to engage in, so that nobody has to send themselves sweetheart roses or leave love messages on their own dry erase boards. Valentine's Day is about love, not resentment.

1. Read "Cyrano de Bergerac."

For the type of single who wallows in sorrow on V-Day, reading this classic is the perfect remedy for putting your own measly problems in perspective. Here is unrequited love, being too shy to approach someone, falling in love with your cousin. If you're short on time and don't want to read the play, the Cliff's Notes are available in the bookstore. If you're short on time and also broke, you can stand there and read the synopsis of the play.

Bottom line is, Cyrano was desperately in love and possessed great charisma, but had a nose which could be described as "a rock — a crag — a cape…. a peninsula!" The moral is clear: don't judge people by their noses, and you may find true love. There is too much emphasis placed on appearance by this society in general, to say nothing of our campus where there are many beautiful people walking around the quad. Give someone a chance, or else you might inadvertently pass up your soul mate (see No. 4).

2. Get yourself a pre-emptive SYR date.

Even if you don't have an impending formal or SYR, you can never be too prepared. Be creative. The next time you're in the presence of members of the opposite sex, quickly assess their potential fun factor and then take the plunge. Prime opportunities include a lull in class, walking across South Quad, in the library, waiting for your waffle to bake, etc. If he or she accepts, then you can feel good about being single and free to ask any old random to your dances. If you get shot down, eat a Whitman's Sampler and proceed to No. 3.

3. Go country.

Too often at this school, we hear some variation of the line, "I like all music… except for country." Before the criticism begins, let me clarify that I have yet to hear a country song about somebody's dog dying. (The tractor thing is true, but still.) No other genre of music could have possibly produced so many different love songs for so many situations.

Are you in love? Reveling in singleness? Broken heart? No doubt about it, there's no better way to pick yourself up from rejection or loneliness than a little bit of Garth and two pina coladas.

4. Find your soul mate.

While this may sound alarming, bear in mind the Notre Dame statistics for meeting a future spouse. I've heard both 50 percent and two-thirds, which translates into keep your eyes wide open. Whether or not you believe in love at first sight or the idea that we're destined to be with a certain person for the rest of our lives, the fact is that there are a lot of girls here. And a lot of guys. And you pass hundreds of them every day without a second glance.

Think about the possibilities! Girls, consider the 55:45 ratio as promised in the brochure. Guys, think about how every single party is packed with 62 females for every three males. (How does that happen?) This goes along with the idea of Cyrano and SYRs — keeping an open mind and maybe getting lucky.

5. Call home.

Who made the rule that Valentine's Day love had to be romantic? The first people who ever loved you don't even expect you to buy them Godiva or serenade them with Billy Joel songs in public. So call your parents. Or if this approach sounds a little drastic, call your other relatives or friends from home who don't get to go to Notre Dame, and tell them how much you miss them.

These are only suggestions, of course, so if you feel the need to be miserable about singledom, then don't crank up the country. However, having fun with this much-hated, much-loved holiday may get you a date, or at the very least some warm fuzzies.

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

• When "woe is me" becomes "I do"
  
• Cyrano and country classics can reclaim Valentine's Day