Valentine’s Day. Some of us love it and some of us hate it. It is very common for people to hate this holiday of love; however, we never question why it is so looked down upon. There is an answer to that question, though. It is simply because a lot of people are looking for love and sometimes people are looking in the wrong places.Â
Have you noticed when you are scrolling on your social media platforms, like TikTok and Instagram, around the month of February, that posts usually slander the holiday or make fun of it? This is because a lot of people can relate to this type of content. These posts often go viral because they validate shared feelings of loneliness or disappointment surrounding love. Humor becomes a coping mechanism, allowing people to laugh at their pain instead of directly confronting it.
Love is definitely an unexplainable feeling if you have ever felt it before. It’s filled with emotion, happiness and passion. When someone brings out that side of you, it can be kind of scary when you think about losing them. We as humans also feel very hurt when someone allows us to bring out that vulnerable side of ourselves and then later on hurt our feelings. That emotional risk is what makes love powerful, but it is also what makes heartbreak so damaging and long-lasting.
In today’s generation, it may be hard to find “your person” or “your soulmate.” Some people are looking to have fun while others may be looking for something long term. Dating culture today can feel confusing and inconsistent, which leads to misunderstandings and unmet expectations that further contribute to emotional pain.
With that being said, Valentine’s Day is so often hated on because a lot of people have had bad experiences with love. For some, the holiday reminds them of betrayal and rejection or relationships that did not work out the way they hoped.Â
So what exactly am I trying to say? A few bad experiences can ruin your perception on Valentine’s Day and loving someone all together. We have seen it through people’s actions and through social media. It can be easy to develop trust issues because of a heart break. Once trust is broken, it becomes difficult to open up again, making love feel more like a risk than something good.Â
Around relationship-based holidays like Valentine’s Day, you will see people feeling out of place and upset. This time of year can make people feel excluded or pressured to meet unrealistic standards of romance that are heavily promoted by society. For many, Valentine’s Day is not about love itself, but about everything that went wrong when they tried to find it.Â
If you are someone who finds yourself feeling a sense of jealousy or animosity towards people in relationships on Valentine’s Day, just know that it’s okay to be single and simultaneously not be against love. If you are in a relationship, don’t let anybody make you feel guilty for being in love. At the end of the day, Valentine’s Day is about honoring love in all forms, and that includes loving yourself as well.  Â