Image Credits: hellogiggles.com
Most people I know really dislike Valentine’s Day. For my single friends, Valentine’s Day is just a reminder of how single they really are. For my friends who are in relationships, especially those in the college “we’re monogamously hooking up with a minor emotional attachment” relationships, Valentine’s Day is just a day full of pressure and high expectations that neither really knows how to meet. Despite its seeming unpopularity, every year, like clock-work, the stores fill up with cutesy pink and red Valentine’s themed presents and TV ads are overtaken with heart-shaped jewelry and moon-faced couples kissing over a romantic dinner. Valentine’s is inescapable, and it’s for that reason that I have co-opted the holiday and decided every year to make it something fabulous.
I really should thank my mom for my appreciation of Valentine’s Day because she is the one who always made them special. Every year since I little, I was allowed to have a friend sleep over on Valentine’s Day. In the morning we’d wake up to little gifts for us—socks, candy, little flowers—just something sweet and simple. Valentine’s Day was a day of love in every sense of the word. It was a reminder that my mom loved me and it was a reminder that I should love myself. It was also a day that I always shared with my girlfriends, and that became associated with a celebration of female friendship.
As I’ve gotten older, and sadly had to celebrate Valentine’s Day minus my mom, I’ve kept the Valentine’s tradition alive, only now Valentine’s Day has gained a new name—Galentine’s Day—thanks to a wonderful/hilarious episode of Parks and Recs. Every Galentine’s day (which I still celebrate on Feb 14) I get a group of my girlfriends together and throw a party complete with girl power anthems, funny Valentine’s cards, and lots of candy/dancing. Instead of buying into the idea that I should be feel sad and lonely because I’m single, I celebrate the most important relationships in my life: the ones I have with my female friends and the one I have with myself.
The bottom line is that Valentine’s Day isn’t going away, so you might as well make the most of it. Don’t buy into the myth that you are not enough or that you are alone. Take Valentine’s Day, a day that really is supposed to be about celebrating love, and enjoy it with the people who support and care about you. Eat lots of candy, buy your own damn flowers, and have a party. And don’t forget the golden rule: “A woman needs a man (or any other person for that matter) like a fish needs a bicycle!