After all of the roses are bought and candy hearts are eaten, everyone is just left to full bellies and exhausted the expression of love. In lieu of Valentine’s Day, affection is a wonderful thing to be shown and shared, but it should not be contained to one day.
Affection is more meaningful when it is done on your time and not when a national holiday tells you. It also should be done in a way that reflects the relationship that you are in. If that means dinner and a movie, go for it! Relationships are also not just means for you and your lover. It is also for your parents and your friends and family. They need to be told that you love them, too.
I show my roommates that I love them by sneak attacking them with a Marshmallow gun when they come home. My dad showed his mother that he loved her by every year on his birthday he would buy her flowers. Gestures like that when people have an excuse to keep a day all about them, but instead they show their appreciation and love for others is by far one of the best ways to show ultimate love.
Showing love doesn’t have to be in some extravagant or expensive way. The simple tasks are sometimes the best. I know that I love when my roommates offer to pick me up from class so I don’t have to walk all the way home. Bragging about someone else’s accomplishments can show just how proud you are of them.
In college, the support of roommates and friends is very important, especially when you are from out-of-state. When a roommate gets a good grade on a test or a new internship or even their first job, buy them a beer and let them bask in the glory.
Lovers, keep it fresh and romantic. Showing your appreciation on a day when you don’t have to, but you just want is extraordinary. Put your little staple on how to show your love. You could do something silly like placing empty toilet paper rolls on the antenna of your lovers car just to show them that you’re there and thinking of them.
If you’re in a relationship where the saying that opposites attract is true, you have to make sure that you try to dabble in their interests to make sure you know that you care. Maybe your guy loves golf but you don’t have the patience for a full game, take him to the driving range with a bottle of wine and your tackiest visor.
We all want to grow up to be that little old couple we see in the park that is still so in love. That couple got there by years of dedication, adventure, and never settling for a life of just dull nights at home. Start now by showing your love all year long. As a JFK remix would say, “Ask not what your lover can do for you, but what you can do for your lover.”