Maybe this year will be the year that girls stop posting things like this around Valentine's Day.
Alas, this dream of mine will probably not come true. Something about the idea that a guy should send you a bouquet of flowers and a heart-shaped box of chocolates seems to dictate girls' happiness on the arbitrarily chosen date of February 14th every year. Why is this?
It's 2016. It's time to stop moping because you happen to be single and time to start celebrating the fact that you control your own happiness.
Here are 11 examples of powerful women who have proven that it rocks to be an independent woman who doesn't need a man.
1. Coco Chanel
Coco Chanel trademarked the "little black dress" and women's suits. She is the definition of an icon, revolutionizing women's fashion by turning the one small shop that she opened in Paris into a fashion empire.
"Women have always been the strong ones of the world. The men are always seeking from women a little pillow to put their heads down on. They are always longing for the mother who held them as infants."
2. Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony dedicated her life to fighting for women's rights. In a time when women could not vote, own property, or even keep their own earnings, she had the courage to be independent and outspoken, playing an instrumental role in women gaining suffrage.
"I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there I take my stand."
3. Tyra Banks
Tyra Banks was the first African-American woman to be featured on GQ and the Sports Illustrated Swim Suit Issue. Teaching girls everywhere how to "smize," she turned her modeling career into a very successful business and now even has her own fashion and beauty website.
"My mom never taught me to be waiting for some prince on a white horse to swipe me off my feet."
4. Jane Austen
Jane Austin wrote literarily genius works like "Pride and Prejudice" and "Sense and Sensibility." Her books are classics that are still being read to this day.
"Give a girl an education and introduce her properly into the world, and ten to one but she has the means of settling well, without further expense to anybody."
5. Queen Elizabeth the First
Queen Elizabeth the First is considered by many to be the greatest monarch in English history. Inheriting a bankrupt and religiously discordant nation, she dedicated her life to her subjects, making England peaceful and prosperous during her almost 50-year reign.
"I would rather be a beggar and single than a queen and married."
6. Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale turned nursing roles into a profession for women. Serving as a nurse during the Crimean War, she played an instrumental part in tending to the soldiers.
She believed God "had clearly marked [her] out...to be a single woman."
7. Oprah
Oprah overcame abuse and poverty to become one of the most wealthy and powerful women to live in the 20th century. She is truly the head of an empire, which includes her own TV network and magazine.
"Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness."
8. Rosalind Franklin
Although you may not be familiar with Rosalind Franklin, she is the person who truly discovered the structure of DNA. James Watson and Francis Crick are remembered for her achievement because they published Franklin's findings before she had a chance to. She lived her life in the name of science and tragically died of ovarian cancer at the age of 37.
9. Clara Barton
Clare Barton worked as a nurse during the Civil War. She ventured outside the house when few women did, working as a teacher and humanitarian. In addition, she was a founding member of the Red Cross.
"I may sometimes be willing to teach for nothing, but if paid at all, I shall never do a man's work for less than a man's pay."
10. Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson is a renowned American poet. Her unique poetry style utilizes slant rhyme and dashes, which deeply interests 20th-century scholars.
"Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough."
11. Harper Lee
Harper Lee is the author of "To Kill a Mockingbird" and, recently, "Go Set a Watchman." "To Kill a Mockingbird" is revered as a classic. She has received the Pulitzer Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and many other honors.
"Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what."
All of these women would be mad if they knew that you cared about getting a giant stuffed animal on Valentine's Day.
I hope that I've convinced you that you don't need a Valentine to enjoy your weekend.
