Valentine’s Day—where roses, gifts, candies, and kisses (both the chocolate ones and the literal ones) are given out left and right. It’s a sweet holiday, but I feel like the love is only focused on your significant other when it shouldn’t be. Yes, your partners should be appreciated, but so does everything else in your life that is just as important and worthy of that love.
This should go without saying, but it’s so important to love yourself. I mention this first because most of the time, a lot of people put others before themselves—let this be a reminder that you should also put yourself first. You should appreciate yourself and your beautiful mind that got you into college, that continues to get you through hard classes, that helps you resolve conflicts in your life, that illustrates your beautiful personality that makes you who you are. When you choose yourself, you’re able to choose the right people for you—the right love to surround you.
We wouldn’t have gotten this far in pursuing our higher education and, more importantly, pursuing the people we want to be without our support systems—our family and friends. A lot of the time we are told that in order to succeed in this world we need to be independent and strong. Although that is true, that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t recognize the shoulders we have leaned on. You should appreciate the people that have been there for you and remind them that you are grateful for them. College is hard, the distance, if any, is harder. Make sure you don’t lose the bonds that helped to build you up to where you are today.
Wherever you are in life right now, you are fortunate. With the hard times that college life and our personal lives bring, it may not seem like it, but we are in fact lucky enough to have this life. These difficult moments remind us that life isn’t always perfect and it helps us to be stronger. Because the harsh reality is, life can be mean and hateful. That’s why it’s important to love this life that we are fortunate enough to have. You should love the hard times, even when they are hard because it helps you appreciate the good times even more.
We have all come so far, wherever we are in the world. But, we always need to remember where we came from. Our homes, our heritages, our cultures all contributed to our life journeys. It’s important to appreciate where we come from, because without it we wouldn’t be where we are now. I am a proud CHamoru from the island of Guam, and my home will hold a place in my heart forever. My island and my people taught me respect, faith, and love. We need to show our first homes as much love as we can while we pave the way for the many others we create.
We also need to show love for the other kinds of people that surround us. The diversity that we are privileged enough to learn about should be recognized. And although February is the month that contains Valentine’s Day, it is more important to recognize it as Black History Month. During this month, it’s imperative that society reflects on the contributions made by Black individuals in society while also honoring their struggles and celebrating their achievements. Especially given the political climate that we are in, the fight for equality, justice, and empowerment goes on. That is why I am emphasizing how important it is that we as women of the many colleges and universities should support each other, because the world wouldn’t be as kind.
Valentine’s Day is a day where love is recognized. But, we need to make sure we spread the love we receive generously to the people in our lives that deserve it. They deserve their flowers, too.