Valentine’s Day Really Isn’t All That Bad

You’re a kid, and you’re inclined to love every celebration you ever learn about. As Christmas merchandise and decor take their leave in crafts and market shops, they’re replaced with hearts, and stuffed animals, and boxes of chocolates. When you’re a kid, it really isn’t all that bad. Maybe your dad brings your mom a bouquet of flowers after work. He writes her a card and they go out to dinner. You sit in an elementary school classroom with a decorated paper bag or mailbox, handing out valentines you finished crafting the night before. There’s red or pink everywhere, and for the very first time in those cold winter months, you feel the warmth as you step outside on the recess playground.

And then you grow up. Maybe everyone else has someone to love, and you feel lonely. You hate the bitterness the holiday suddenly seems to bring, and you only want to skip ahead to the next one. You declare a hatred for Valentine’s Day that same year. The same ordeal that used to feel special — that smile on your parents’ faces, or your friend’s scratchy handwriting attached to a box of conversation hearts — are merely distant memories. Cynicism is fed as you reckon the day’s nothing but a capitalistic ploy. And perhaps that’s a bit of it, but aren’t all holidays these days?

But it really isn’t all that bad. Whether you’re in a romantic relationship or not — you certainly love SOMEBODY. Maybe it’s your parents, or your sisters. Maybe it’s your grandparents. Your best friends. Your pet. The bottom line is: Valentine’s Day isn’t a mere celebration of romantic love. It celebrates all forms of love, to others and yourself.

As you grow, it’s easy to forget about the things that made everything we did so special. When our hearts were young, they weren’t trained to judge a holiday on romantic partners or statuses. We loved the holiday for the excitement it gave us, for the happiness and love that ran rampant in the air. For the spirit in the air after a month and a half of bleak winter weather.

I know it sucks. One of these years, you want to be one of the so-called lucky ones. But I implore you to consider that you already are. After all, if you’re surrounded by even a single thing you love, there should always be something to smile about. And that’s always a reason to celebrate.

• holidays
• love
• Optimism
• relationships
• valentine
• Valentine's Day