It’s February, the month of love, seeing pink and red everywhere, hearts, roses, and cupids. Many people are hard-launching their significant others and spending time on Valentine’s Day, but another fun holiday is Galentine’s! A day for celebrating other types of love other than romance. Having a day for love for a partner, such as Valentine’s Day, and another day, like Galentine’s Day, for platonic/non-romantic love, aligns perfectly.Â
As I’m nearing the end of my university path and having entered my 20s just last year, I have grown to value personal connections and relationships, such as the friendships I’ve made throughout my life. I do like to keep my friend circle close and near, with friendships from many stages of my life, whether elementary school with my best friend of 13 years, high school friends, or, more recently, my university friends!Â
I believe one’s friends tell a lot about an individual. It’s a snapshot of who you are as a person, especially when having friends throughout all your stages in life. While society puts a massive spotlight on finding “The One,” we often overlook the fact that we’ve already found the ones. The people who answer the 2 AM existential crisis texts and show up with a sweet treat when a midterm goes south, or the ones who are down to any spontaneous plan, and check up on you, or the ones who you can go a while not speaking with and once reunited you chat like you saw each other just the other day, and no awkwardness in between.
Since I was young, everyone around me always told me that my 20s would be the best years of my life. Now, it wasn’t that I didn’t believe it, but experiencing it, I definitely understand what they meant. Everyone is doing different things and is at different stages of life, whether moving away, in school, at work, travelling, or getting married! Which is why having those strong friendships is valued and important. Whether it’s someone you’ve known for 10 years or 10 days, the duration isn’t as important as finding the right people. The ones there for you no matter what!Â
We need to stop treating platonic love as a placeholder until a romantic partner arrives. Galentine’s Day shouldn’t just be “Valentine’s for single people”; it should be a celebration of the soulmates who don’t need a ring to stay loyal.Â
So, while the world turns pink and red for couples this month, I’ll be celebrating the people who have been there for the ugly and the good moments. Because at the end of the day, a romantic partner might be the lead in your story, but your friends are the ones who wrote the script with you.