Edited By: Joy Jiang
It’s that day where you see men running in and out of flower shops, carrying boxes of chocolates and raiding every jewellery boutique downtown. Yep, it’s Valentines Day — the holiday where every street corner is flooded with PDA and couples exchange endearing looks. I might sound cynical, but in reality, I’m just single. Our society has constantly emphasized that Valentines Day is only for couples and now being single on the 14th of February feels like a disaster. But, it really shouldn’t be. In fact, it should be a celebration of loving yourself and others.
Valentine’s Day is supposed to be a day about love, but not the type of love that you only get out of relationships. It’s a day where we are supposed to spread love to our friends and family and, more importantly, to feel good about ourselves.
When I was in elementary school, before everyone’s hormones began raging, Valentine’s Day was another holiday, one we could all wake up excited for. Valentine’s Day was a day of giving and making everyone feel included and loved. We used to distribute Valentine’s Day cards to everyone in the class. It was also a day to make yourself feel good and make new memories with your friends by sending carnation or candy grams and pooling them together at recess time. But, as we got older, Valentine’s Day was no longer about doing something for yourself or making memories with your friends. It became the 21st century Hunger Games, a fight to find a significant other ASAP.
Instead of keeping up these standards that we have to be in a relationship on Valentine’s Day, we should find a way to bring back its true meaning and here are some tips. Take the time to pamper yourself and do something that you really love, whether it be watching TV, going out or just sleeping in. Send a Valentine’s Day card to some of your best friends and family and show your appreciation for all your loved ones. Take the time to enrich yourself, love yourself and love others.
Valentine’s Day is one of the most meaningful holidays, but it’s been lost in our society’s “norms.” We need to get back it’s true spirit – love. We don’t need to spend the day feeling sad that we are single or feeling pressured to find a significant other. We can make it about taking care of ourselves, loving ourselves and spreading that love to everyone special to us. And let’s be real, who needs an S/O when we have Netflix?