Live for You
When people think of February, the first thing that comes to mind is Valentine’s Day and the lonely feeling that comes before and after. Getting older, especially for women, many feel pressure to have a boyfriend, get married, and start a family. Whenever my family is around the first question everyone wants to know is “Do you have a boyfriend?” For the most part men are expected to live their life and have fun, while until this day women are expected to worry about committing their lives to someone else whether that’s family, a boyfriend, or children.
This year is the first year in many that I did not have a Valentine’s Day date. Not because I single, but because I realized last year that I was tired of living my life to make others happy, or putting everyone else before myself. My boyfriend and I have been together for almost three years and the whole time I was more concerned about what he was doing and planning a life around him that I felt like I was losing myself in the process. I am in a “long distance relationship” but he would visit every weekend, we would talk or FaceTime every night, and text all day long. Every other relationship or priority was forgotten about during this relationship and my life centered around one person. I realized that I was losing myself in the process of loving someone else.
At the end of last year, and the beginning of this year, I realized that I wanted to start living for myself. When people say that they want to live for themselves, others may consider that selfish or self-centered. But, I realized that from the time I was born until 18, I was living to please my parents, and doing what I thought would make them happy. From the time I got into college I found myself in another relationship trying to please my boyfriend. At the age of 21 I realized that it’s now time for me to enjoy my life the way I want to. I don’t want to be a person who looks back on life and have regrets not having fun or not doing what I want to do because I am so concerned about making everyone else happy.
So this Valentine’s Day I chose to love, and focus on myself. I realized that focusing on myself and finding out who I am has made me a happier person. Not seeing my boyfriend as often, and focusing on the communication in our relationship instead of the physical aspect has made us even closer. So whether you are going to be by yourself, with a significant-other, friends, or family this Valentine’s Day remember to always love yourself, and put yourself first because you will never have true happiness until you appreciate yourself.