When I was younger, I considered Valentine’s Day a fun day in class when we decorated coffee cans and filled them with boxes of candy hearts and SpongeBob-themed cards from our peers. It was an excuse to wear red and pink together (even though everyone knows they clash), to eat endless sugar cookies and to have a party instead of science classes.
Just a few short and cynical years later, Valentine’s Day became the day for single girls to dress in black, drink too much wine and mourn over their state of singlehood. Ladies, if you do one or a combination of the aforementioned activities on Feb. 14, this year is the year to cut it out.
Valentine’s Day is infamous for being a “Hallmark holiday” according to bitter, single people … and lazy non-single people who don’t want to go the extra mile for their partners. The romantics of the world are criticized for attaching meaning to a random date and filling store shelves with chocolates, teddy bears and roses. I say, let the romantics have their day.
Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day and Christmas are all extremely commercialized holidays and no one complains about them. They are merely excuses to eat candy, drink and just be happy, respectively. So don’t get pissed at people who attach meaning to Feb. 14. Technically, your birthday was just a random date until you happened to be born and all anniversaries are just dates until people decide to get married. Let Valentine’s Day be a special day too. Let it be the date in the calendar for you to think about what or whom you love.
As a single person, I still enjoy Valentine’s Day because I use it to show the important people in my life that I appreciate them. It’s almost selfish to think that just because you don’t have anyone to love romantically, that means you don’t have anyone you love or anyone who loves you. This year, spend time with your siblings, send mom a card or give grandma a call.
Treat yourself to a shopping spree, a spa day, or better yet, share that day with friends. Even drunk “I just love you guys so much” moments are better than drunk, cranky “I hate love and happy people” moments. Get over it. You don’t hate love. Love is beautiful thing and you’ve got more of it in you than you think. Especially because when you’re finally in a relationship on Valentine’s Day, I know you won’t be bashing romance any longer.
If you’re feeling extra adventurous, do something really out of the ordinary for Valentine’s Day. If we all kept the mentality of “Meh, Valentine’s Day is just any other day of the calendar year,” we wouldn’t have the excuse to do crazy things in the name of a holiday. People fly all the way around the world to get home for Christmas and pull all kinds of crazy stunts just because it’s their birthday, so let Valentine’s Day be your excuse. Go skydiving, shark diving or scuba diving … anything, as long as you’re not woefully diving to the bottom of your bottle of wine.
If you were looking for a f*** Valentine’s Day rant, you came to the wrong place. Instead of hitting up one of your moody, single friends for such a discussion, snap them out of their funk with some flowers, food or FIFA – whatever floats their boat. As you pick out your clashing red and pink outfit for Valentine’s Day this year, just remember that no matter what the 14th means to you, love is all you need.
Nayna Shah is a junior majoring in biology. Her new column, Swipe Right, runs every second Thursday of each month.
Featured image courtesy Pixabay user jill111