Love it or hate it, there’s no way of avoiding Valentine’s Day. When Valentine’s Day nears, you get two different reactions: those who are single and are publicly announcing it, declaring their hatred for Valentine’s Day and love overall. Or you get those who are in a relationship, showcasing how much they love Valentine’s Day because they have a partner (and possibly even saying how much they’d dread it if they had to go through it single). Frankly, as someone who has spent every single Valentine’s Day with no partner, I understand the bitterness that comes with it. At some point, I was the type of person who swore off Valentine’s. However, as I grew up, I began to see the day less as a day about romantic love and more as a day to celebrate love itself simply.
I love love. I love reading about love, watching movies and TV shows about love, listening to love songs, collecting art that holds so much love and creating art about love. I love it all. My favorite books, movies and art pieces all have an overall topic of love. So when Valentine’s Day comes around, I can’t help but be in awe.
There’s something so undeniably beautiful about love in itself, if we separate the idea that love can only be romantic. Love itself is a positive and special thing, something so deep that it’s hard to fully explain what it is in the English language. When it’s between people, it’s a special connection that time and distance can’t weaken if it’s true. But love can also be towards animals, ideas and objects. It surrounds us everywhere, whether we’re aware of it, and it’s infused in almost everything.
Valentine’s Day reminds me of how much love surrounds us all every day. Walking through campus and seeing everyone holding different bouquets and baskets of their favorite things, or seeing the joy in their face as they spend it with someone they care about, even if it’s just platonically. Valentine’s Day is beautiful with the hearts everywhere and the pinks and reds mixing as everyone is dressing up a little bit brighter and lighter than usual to fit the theme. Valentine’s Day itself is a very aesthetic holiday, alongside the internal beauty that it holds.
It saddens me when people blatantly hate Valentine’s Day because they don’t have a traditional Valentines in a romantic sense. From my perspective, it defeats the purpose of celebrating the holiday. The origin of Valentines day was to celebrate a martyr named Valentine, rather than strict romantic love. From this viewpoint, thinking that you can only celebrate Valentines day if you have a romantic partner, it’s almost hurting yourself more than anything. Those who deeply hate Valentine’s Day, it rubs off lots of negativity in a day that is supposed to be light and filled with love. Negativity right now is ruling our entire world and has a tight grip on us all; however, finding moments in the bad to have the positivity shine through is important. There’s only one holiday that is strictly about showcasing your love for others in a shameless manner.
This past Valentine’s Day, I did not have a romantic Valentine; however, that did not prevent me from enjoying the day still. I was able to celebrate it with my friends through Galentines, and I went back home and was able to celebrate with my parents. Both of these celebrations reminded me that I do not need romantic love in my life to remember that I am loved. Even without these, I still got myself flowers and decorated them up and reminded myself that I am the main person who should be concerned about impressing and feeling love.
If you’re someone who sulks in bed during February because you do not have a partner to spend this time with, remember that self-love and friendships are equally, if not more important than having a romantic partner in your life. While it would be nice to have someone romantically during this time, the world continues to spin. For the next valentines day, try to flip your mentality on what love means to you and how you can spend the time in a more positive manner. The world right now needs more love than ever, and Valentine’s Day always reminds me that love and light are still alive and inside us all.