Ah, Valentine’s Day. It’s perhaps the most controversial holiday after Columbus Day, though less for historic reasons and more for the fact that people generally either love it or loathe it. It’s a fun way to celebrate love and relationships, but sometimes it can be hard to swallow, especially when you have to watch all the couples around you be, well, couples.
I’ve never understood the Valentine’s Day hate, and before I’m put under fire by all the Valentine’s haters of the world, I should mention that I’m a huge romantic who often spends the holiday valentine-less. I’ve got all the ingredients of a bitter Valentine’s Day patron, and yet something must have gone wrong in the process, because I’ve never had the heart to dislike it. There’s something fun about having another reason to celebrate something, and while I don’t always have my own valentine to spend the day with, the holiday has become a day to celebrate the love I have for myself and for others.
That’s why I love the idea of Galentine’s Day, the Feb. 13 version of the romance-themed holiday that’s less about relationships are more about friendships. It’s a fun reason for all girls— single, taken or in a complicated relationship— to celebrate themselves and the ladies who have stuck by their sides. It’s a good reminder that while relationships can be great, they aren’t everything. It’s a great way to relieve stress and catch up with some of your favorite cuties that you may not have had a lot of time for lately.
I think this is something we often forget about during this time of year. Some of us get so caught up in the fact that we don’t have a date that we let it dictate how we feel about ourselves. On the other hand, sometimes we get so caught up in our significant others that we neglect our friends. It’s unhealthy to put so much weight on your relationship status, especially when there are so many other important people in your life. We put so much focus on romantic love that we forget about all the other important kinds of love, like self love and platonic love. It seems silly to measure our self-worth by whether or not we can snag a date on a certain day of the year, especially when so many of us are surrounded by people who already love us unconditionally. I don’t know about you, but I don’t know what I would do without my girls. Prospective dating partners are fun, but they hardly ever understand me quite as well as my close friends do.
So whether or not you plan on spending Feb. 14 with a significant other, try to make some time for your girls to celebrate yourself and each other. Spoil yourself with dinner downtown or a spa day. Try on that dress you’ve been eying in the store or buy that perfect shade of lipstick. Spend the night with a group of your gal pals, watching your favorite rom-coms and cooking a meal together. Or, better yet, join the Her Campus KU crew for our Galentine’s Day event at Fuzzy’s Taco Shop from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Feb. 13. Spoil yourself and remember that no matter what your Facebook relationship status says, you’ve always got a crew of fabulous friends who love you more than anything.