Let’s face it, for the majority of us Valentine’s Day sucks. It’s dreadful when you are single and it can be just as bad even when you are in a relationship. It’s not like anyone hates the idea of love, but watching couples ostentatiously showing off their significant others that only their heart beats for is obnoxious at best and insufferable at worse.
If you’re in college and have a free night on Valentine’s Day, you probably want to catch up on your sleep. The last thing you want to do is peel off your sweatpants, shave your legs or face, put on a dress or button-up and waltz out to a crowded restaurant where the staff looks like they are slowly dying on the inside. Plus, if you’re in school the cost of going out to dinner on Valentine’s Day could probably pay for two weeks’ worth of gas. Realizing that you’re literally eating fourteen days’ worth of transportation, is enough to spoil the evening for anyone.
If you are single, Valentine’s Day is a constant reminder of your status. For an entire 24-hour period you are bombarded with the images of flowers, hearts and balloons that are not going to you. Even if you are single and happy, the monotony of the entire holiday is mind-numbing. Love songs are ubiquitous, the only thing on TV is Notebook and every other Nicholas Sparks movie ever, and the world seems focused on discrediting the contentedness you have for being single.
Seeing that Valentine’s Day is hated by single people and people in relationships, why do we still subjugate ourselves to this universal day of torture? There nothing wrong with couples taking a day to show appreciation for each other. However, the pressures of the holiday makes it seem like couples are in competition with each other to prove who can show their love for the other most. If you’re in a relationship, you already know that there are plenty of ways to express your love for your partner that doesn’t include going out or buying a gift. For me, spending time with my boyfriend, to make dinner or watch a movie is five million times better than going out. But, for whatever reason, staying home to watch movies with your significant other on Valentine’s Day is looked down on instead of praised as the most romantic idea ever thought of.
Valentine’s Day confines individuals to showing romantic love and shuns platonic or familial love. Whether a person is in a relationship or single, there are other people in their life which they love. There are multiple types of love and different degrees to which they can be shown, so why dedicate the only day of love to showcase romantic love? If love should be celebrated, it should be celebrated in all mediums, not just those who are deemed idealistic. Love for friends, love for family, love for partners, and love for one’s self, is all important and should be reflected on as such.
It seems as though those who choose to speak on the universal hate of Valentine’s Day are discounted as salty single people who are lonely. People in a relationship who don’t like the holiday are called ungrateful or cheap when this is rarely the case. It is high time that we all be honest with ourselves, Valentine’s Day is the worse. Let’s use this year to promote love and respect for all individuals this Valentine’s Day. If we are to celebrate a day of love, love for everyone should come before buying flamboyant gifts, going on flashy dates, and shaming single people.