With Valentine’s Day coming up, I felt it necessary to give my two cents on the so-fantasized holiday that everyone daydreams over. For as long as I can remember, Valentine’s Day has been the day where my father gave my mother roses, chocolates, and a romantic outing. In elementary, it was a tradition for all students to bring candies to the whole class and pass them around to one another. It was instilled in my mind from a young age that this holiday was for romance, lust, gift-giving, and external validation. What they don’t tell you when you’re young, though, is that this holiday is nothing but an illusion and just another way to spend tons of money on meaningless, materialistic things. Don’t get me wrong, if you’re in a healthy, loving relationship, I ENCOURAGE you to celebrate whether it is a simple movie night together or going all out on a fancy dinner. However, if you are like me, single as can be, there is no reason as to why you should feel isolated, left out, and much less pressured into a relationship for the sake of this made-up holiday (for the love of God, please don’t).
This Valentine’s Day, I want you to show love to yourself. Think about this: how would you be capable of loving someone if you are unable to love yourself first? How would someone love YOU if you don’t love yourself? Self love comes as a priority and I don’t just mean this in a superficial way. Self love is beyond a face mask and a bath bomb… it is about INTERNAL healing, spending time with yourself, and genuinely giving yourself grace for the person you are, what you have accomplished, and what you have to offer in this world. As someone who was in a relationship throughout most of middle and high school, growing up I spent many Valentine’s filled with balloons, flowers, chocolates, expensive gifts, the whole nine yards. However, coming into college as a single woman and having evolved mentally throughout these years, I have come to the pure realization that how I treat myself is more essential than anything else. I began to take myself out on dates, watched movies by myself, read self-development books, went to the gym, got involved on my school campus (hence, why I am here haha) and with all of that, something crazy happened… I fell deeply and utterly in love with myself.
Now, I am not just in love with myself in terms of idolizing my image or blowing kisses to myself in the mirror (which is 100% acceptable and I 100% encourage it). But, I mean in terms of getting to know yourself more and digging deeper. I learned about my own thought patterns, what exterior situations trigger internal emotions and reactions, what manifestation methods work best for me, what type of cheese I like best, which morning or night time routine works best for my productivity, and just the small details that make up the human I am overall. Take the time to learn more about your likes and dislikes so that when you DO get into a relationship, you can walk into it being the best, most optimized version of yourself.
Okay, enough rambling and deep talk! Let’s get into the fun and flirty part. Some ways to show love to yourself this Valentine’s Day are:
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Watch the sunrise OR sunset at the beach.
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Get dolled up for yourself and take selfies if you fancy.
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Get a mani/pedi.
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Work out and get that booty PLUMP.
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Take yourself out on a date (nope, this is not weird it actually takes a bad bleep to have the courage to do this).
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Buy something you have been wanting for a while.
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Spend quality time with your family and best friends.
Those are just some ideas, which I personally plan on partaking in. However, we are all different and I highly encourage you to just do what makes YOU happy. Treat yourself, love yourself, and do the things that boost your confidence. You are all you need and no holiday in the world should have you rushing into anything, feeling lonely, or crying to Nicholas Sparks films by yourself. This is YOUR time to be selfish. No love is better than self love.