There’s a reason so many people hate Valentine’s Day. There is no escaping large displays of romantic love with posts on social media, heart shaped chocolate boxes for sale at the grocery store, the flowers sitting in your kitchen that were sent to your roommate from her boyfriend. Many individuals not in a romantic relationship resent Valentine’s Day because they feel as if it is a reminder that they are missing out on romantic love. However, I feel as if we have overlooked the impact and beauty of other types of love. We have put romantic love on a pedestal while neglecting to appreciate other types of love like the love a parent has for their child, or friends have for each other.
Romantic love has been a prominent theme in the books and movies we’ve absorbed growing up. It’s the hot topics among celebrities, and the source of gossip in our everyday lives. I get it. Romantic love is special and exciting; many would say it is essential for us to have at some point in our lives. But can’t we say the same about other types of love? My relationships with my friends have profoundly changed my life. Friends that have remembered a random thing I said I liked one time, friends that have dropped what they are doing to be with me on a hard day, friends that I’ve shared memories with that I will remember forever. Platonic relationships, in all their complexity and beauty, are rarely accurately portrayed in media. When friendships are highlighted, often there is speculation on if the relationship is purely platonic. We’ve forgotten that love in friendships is real and extremely impactful.
Familial love is also overlooked. While family is complicated, most people have family members who have loved them growing up. My parents stayed up all hours of the night when my siblings and I were babies or sick as a child. They’ve come home from work just to have to make dinner for their family, laid up at night worrying about us, and sacrificed their time driving us to sports and clubs (just to name a few). My siblings have given me life advice, attended my games and musicals, and let me sleep in their beds when I didn’t want to be alone. My grandma makes me separate meatless pasta from scratch when she knows I am coming over. She has always bent over backwards to tend to me and make me feel loved when I am with her. These examples just skim the surface of how these relationships have guided me through life.
Romantic love is beautiful and important. But we as a society have forgotten that other types of love are just as important, and often, less dispensable. When we only promote and glamorize romantic love, we overlook and diminish the impact of other types of love. That being said, I hope you feel extra ~loved~ this Valentine’s Day regardless of if you are in a romantic relationship. There is more love around you than you think.