In the last few years, it’s become cool to hate Valentine’s Day.
It’s a holiday that seems to be over commercialized and doesn’t seem to have a lot of true meaning anymore. It puts too much pressure on people if they have a significant other to be with, and makes people without one feel unbelievably lonely.
Personally, I never got that. Valentine’s Day shouldn’t be about high expectations or locking yourself in your room with a bucket of ice cream, it’s about love, no matter what form it takes.
It doesn’t have to strictly be about romantic love, it can be anything at all. I have never been a person known for talking about feelings, and I know many people feel as awkwardly about it as I do sometimes, but if you’re going to say something, just say it!
Tell your roommate how much you appreciate how they always let you borrow from their DVD collection without asking. Tell your dad how much you still love going to baseball games in the summer, even if the team isn’t doing so well. Tell your sister how glad you were that she was there for you when you found out that the Tooth Fairy wasn’t real.
You don’t have to buy someone a fancy ring or a big expensive meal to tell them how much you love them, this isn’t a diamond commercial! Just get them something that reminds them how glad you are that they are in your life. If its $100 or $5, if it’s the right thing, it works just the same.
Life moves pretty fast, especially in college where people are really leaving their childhoods and becoming adults, making choices, and moving out into the world. Who knows what’s going to happen next, which is why I say this Valentine’s Day, let the people that matter to you (significant other, friends, family, pets, neighbors, co-workers, even yourself) know that you really do care, even if you don’t talk about it every day. Maybe this holiday is commercial, and maybe it is pretty cheesy, but that’s ok with me.
To love someone, no matter what kind of love it is, is pretty dang powerful, and we can all stand to step back and enjoy it sometimes. Just like the song: “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love.”