Valentine’s Day is weird. It’s always felt like an excuse of a day for people to show up for their significant other with flowers, chocolates and stuffed animals. For one day a year, life feels like a cheesy romantic comedy movie filled with over-affectionate couples and major PDA. Gross.
I have never really been into the whole concept of Valentine’s Day or the meaning surrounding it. I’ve never really been a big romantic person either. Maybe it’s because I’ve never been in a relationship before, or maybe it’s because I’m not a huge fan of love or romance in general. I would definitely not call myself a hopeless romantic, much less any type of romantic. Either way, I’m ok with being single on Valentine’s Day. I already have been for 18 years. What’s another year?
Relationships aren’t everything life has to offer. Neither is a significant other. Sure, it feels that way on Valentine’s Day when everyone is shoving their boyfriends and girlfriends in your face. It feels like everyone is trying to one-up each other by showing off how much they love their significant other. But you don’t really need one to be truly happy. It might be nice to have someone you love to share the holiday with, but just because you don’t doesn’t mean you still can’t feel the love. Happiness should not be defined by your relationship status. It should be defined by the way you live your life and by the way you choose to love yourself.
Wistfully wishing you had a boyfriend on Valentine’s Day is somewhat unproductive. It only further pushes you away from focusing on the love you should have for yourself, and it distracts you from feeling truly at peace with your own. Wishful thinking creates unrealistic expectations of what love is, and a holiday dedicated to love won’t make it any better. It’s counterproductive to sit around and mope all day because you don’t have a great love in your life. Instead of wasting energy being sad about what you don’t have, you should be celebrating the current love of friends or family that you do have.
The notion that everyone lives for love or that being in a romantic relationship means everything is a stupid idea. It’s wrong. Love is not everything there is to life. While it is nice to live for love and seek out your “true love,” it’s also not something that should hold you back from your life goals and dreams. We all have passion in our hearts that seeks other people out to share it with—a desire to feel loved and receive heartfelt warmth in return. However, love is not life or death, especially on Valentine’s Day.
You should cherish the time you have alone while single. Once you do find that special someone, you’ll regret not doing enough things by yourself and taking the time to really get to know who you are. Until that time comes, don’t dread Valentine’s Day. Take the day by the horns and show the world how much you don’t care by treating yourself to a day out and truly living life to the fullest.