When someone asks me what my favorite holiday is, I respond with an answer that is not generic. I like to consider myself an all-around non-generic person, so I expect this of myself. The conversation goes like this:

“What’s your favorite holiday?”

“Fourth of July and Valentine’s Day.”

“Huh?”

I always get a look when I say Valentine’s Day, and I am not exactly sure why. Sure, I’ve never actually had a Valentine on Valentine’s Day, but that doesn’t bother me. I always ask friends or family members to be my Valentine’s, and they make it so much better.

I look at life differently.

I look at love differently.

I don’t let this typical “romantic” Valentine’s Day get me down.

What good does that do?

Also, I see love everywhere.

I see love as a universal quality in all of us.

I don’t limit the boundaries of love.

I let love in, and I let love out.

I see love and I feel it.

I look for it and I find it.

I surrender to it.

Yes, I am single, but I am still happy to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Love does not have to be boyfriend and girlfriend, girlfriend and girlfriend, boyfriend and boyfriend and all other combinations. It does not have to mean a candle-lit dinner with someone you see yourself marrying. It does not have to mean cheesy chocolates and big bouquets of flowers.

But it can.

Love can also mean spending time with friends, taking your dog for a walk, watching a movie with your family, reading a good book, or watching chick flicks on Netflix.

Love is universal. It is everywhere and it includes everything. Give it a chance.

Spend your Valentine’s Day the way you want to. Whether that means spending it with a romantic partner, with a friend, or with yourself.

The goal is to open your heart to all the love in this world. It’s so easy for us to get distracted by the idea that we need a significant other to enjoy this holiday, when really, we should be celebrating the love around us everyday.

Valentine’s Day comes around every year, and I always feel very grateful. I step back and look at how lucky I am to be where I am, to be who I am, and to be as healthy as I am. But I also consider the fact that I am surrounded by so much love.

Love shows itself in ways that we can’t always see.

Sure I’m single, you might be single too, but that doesn’t mean that our lives are love-less. Romantic love is just one kind of love.

My challenge for you is to recognize the love in your life. Open your heart and open your mind. Let the love in! Embrace it! Hold onto it!

Do this, and you’ll have the best damn Valentine’s day ever.