It's Valentine's weekend — the weekend that every romantically stranded student dreads.
All the couples are going out, exchanging boxes of chocolate hearts and hugging, and those are only the tame forms of affection.
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While we don't have advice on how to get a Valentine for this romantic day, pop your earbuds in and put on "Single Ladies," because here are five activities to get you through Valentine's weekend.
5. Celebrate Arizona's birthday
In case you didn't know, Arizona was "born" on Feb. 14, 1912. So instead of celebrating the day of love, celebrate the state's birthday. And in case you missed your MAT 114 lecture for the fifth time, that makes Arizona 114 years old this year. (Happy Birthday, Arizona!)
To celebrate, hike up "A" Mountain, visit the Salt River or take a stroll around parts of campus you haven't explored yet; just spend some time outside and celebrate our great state.
4. Visit Crafty Tomato
A 25-minute walk from the heart of the Tempe campus, Crafty Tomato is the perfect spot to do some crafts on your own or with your friends.
Crafty Tomato is a reservation-based DIY studio that offers a variety of crafts for you to do. They're open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Valentine's Day.
Their 3D pet portraits are a purr-fect budget-friendly activity for your Galentine's or Bro-entine's day out.
3. Have a self-care day
Use your hard-earned adult money to buy adult things. It's the day of love, after all. Treat yourself to a massage, a face mask or just sleep in. You probably need it.
Trade doom scrolling on your bed for some quality floor time while watching your comfort show for the eighth time. Or maybe go out, for a change.
The Volunteer Nonprofit Service Association in downtown Phoenix is having a book sale this Valentine's weekend, for those of you who still haven't moved on from your physical media obsession. Maybe pick up a romance book and make progress toward moving on from that situationship.
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2. Go to Glow Night at Stratosphere Adventure Park
Get some energy out with your friends at Stratosphere Adventure Park in North Phoenix, approximately a nine-minute drive from the West Valley campus.
The park has a variety of activities such as trampolines, parkour courses, a full-size sports court, launch slides and more, so your unprocessed anger can finally have an outlet.
On Saturday, you can attend their Glow Night from 6-10 p.m. Go ahead, ask your crush out on a date they will never forget.
1. Do an escape room with your friends
If your crush said no to Glow Night, test your compatibility through an escape room. With escape rooms close to every campus, it doesn't matter who you go with — you're bound to end up needing an escape plan anyway. Here are some affordable escape rooms for your night out.
Polytechnic campus: Paragon Escape Games
Roughly a nine-minute drive from the Polytechnic campus, Paragon Escape Games offers only one escape room at the moment, but there's three more on the way. Find your way out of an ancient Egyptian-themed puzzle and bond with your (hopefully) future lover as you go.
Tempe campus: United Escapes of America
An approximate eight-minute drive and a 10-minute light rail ride from the center of the Tempe campus, United Escapes of America offers five escape rooms. Their games offer "parallel play" and "linear play" options, meaning that everyone gets to play a part in finally resolving the puzzle.
Downtown Phoenix campus: Puzzle Effect
A roughly 20-minute light-rail ride from the Downtown Phoenix campus, Puzzle Effect has five rooms to choose from, with varying difficulties and complex storylines. This is where you finally close the swag gap with your crush.
West Valley campus: Baffled Escape Rooms
Approximately a 10-minute drive from the center of the West Valley campus, Baffled Escape Rooms offers three rooms and a variety of themes. According to their website, they are also running a Valentine's Day special. Here's proof that there's things to do at West Valley campus.
While we can't help that you don't have a Valentine this Valentine's Day, we hope these five activities can make up for your lack of love life.
Edited by Kasturi Tale, Senna James and Pippa Fung.
Reach the reporter at jhamil33@asu.edu and follow @jhamilton_media on X.
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Jen Hamilton is a freshman studying Journalism and Mass Communications with a minor in Political Science. This is their first semester with The State Press.
