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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at USFSP chapter.

Valentine’s Day has never really been my favorite holiday. No, I don’t suddenly get jealous of everyone in relationships. No, it’s not because it is one of the most expensive holidays for America. (Although I will quickly point out that according to the National Retail Federation, $19.7 billion dollars was spent in the United States for Valentine’s Day.) And no, it’s not because I’m single.

The main reason that I don’t really care for Valentine’s Day is because I would rather have my significant other do something special for me because they wanted to, not because everyone else around them is doing it and there is so much pressure to perform some act of kindness. If you don’t do something for your significant other on this one special day, then suddenly you’re perceived as someone uncaring.  To me, it would have more value if it’s more random and out of the blue, not on a scheduled day decided by the rest of the world.

Another reason I don’t care for Valentine’s is because I believe that you shouldn’t only show that you care for your significant other on only one day out of the year. Yes, Valentine’s Day is supposed to remind us to let the people we know love them, but if we really loved them wouldn’t we do it year round instead of on just one day?

In my opinion, social media doesn’t help Valentine’s Day either. I’m also a believer in keeping your relationship out of social media because it isn’t anyone else’s business except you and your partner’s. However, on Valentine’s, everyone wants to show off their significant other, which is totally fine, but if you’re buying them gifts and taking them fancy places to show them off to people who follow you rather than because you care about that person, that’s where the problem lies.

If you celebrate and enjoy Valentine’s Day, that’s awesome. I’m not trying to convince you that it is an awful holiday and shouldn’t be celebrated. I’m simply saying that these are my reasons for not really caring for it.

 

HC,

Alyssa Harmon

 

Sources:

 

https://www.fundivo.com/stats/valentines-day-spending-statistics/#

https://www.pexels.com/photo/flowers-petals-valentines-day-white-rose-67…

Alyssa Harmon is a senior at USFSP and is majoring in English Writing Studies and minoring in Mass Communication. For her senior year, she is also working on her thesis project for the Honors College. She is the current senior editor for the USFSP Her Campus chapter, as well as the 2017-2018 president and the 2018-2019 vice president for the Alpha Xi Phi chapter of Sigma Tau Delta. In addition, she is the editor-in-chief of Papercut Literary Journal. Alyssa lived all around the country until 2013 when she and her family moved to Florida. Alyssa has a passion for reading and writing, and she's been doing that since she learned how to. Once she graduates, she wants to hopefully publish a book of some of her poetry and work as a copy editor at a publishing company. When she's not doing homework, you can find her downtown, at the beach, or in a bookstore.
A Mass Communications Major with a passion for inspiring others.