I know that I'm definitely part of the minority as I am currently a single girl who loves Valentine's Day. I've heard so many people who are single recently complaining about how it is a silly holiday that doesn't mean much. I agree that it may be a little cheesy, but I still think that it is a cute holiday because what's so wrong about dedicating a day to celebrate all the love that is around us? There is so much of it and we may take it for granted more often than not. I believe that Valentine's Day helps to remind us about all the wonderful people and relationships we have in our lives, not just the romantic ones. I don't think you need a significant other to have a great Valentine's Day.
Thinking back to celebrating Valentine's Day as a child, there are certain memories that stick out and remind me of why I've always loved this holiday. For example, I remember buying little cards for my entire class when I was younger. There were always some with pictures from our favorite movies and televisions shows, and the box would always contain 24 of them which was the perfect amount for my class. I used to hand pick which one to give to each of my classmates and I loved writing their names in various colored pens. We were young so obviously none of us had significant others and there was no expectation that we would. At the end of the school day, we would get to walk around the classroom and pass out our cards or sometimes even put them in each other's classroom mailboxes. I also remember that my dad always sent roses to my mom during the day while he was at work. Then when he came home, he would always ring the doorbell carrying a big heart-shaped box of chocolate for my her and two smaller ones for me and my younger sister. In addition, whenever we went to my grandparents' house I would see a gigantic card displayed on the piano that my grandpa had given to my grandma. He always wrote a sweet and simple message that captured his love for her. There were also usually little gifts for me and my sister sitting right next to that card.
This was what Valentine's Day was about and I loved it.
I do realize that some of my favorite Valentine's Day traditions mentioned above concern the romantic love between couples such as my parents and grandparents, but I truly enjoyed witnessing love in my family, even if I wasn't the one in the relationship. I was so lucky to witness such genuine love and care, and my family always reminded me and my sister that we were a part of it. My family always expressed how loved my sister and I are.
Just because I'm older now and obviously it would be nice to be celebrating the holiday with a boyfriend, I would still like to enjoy the holiday and cherish all the beautiful people I have in my life and the love they show me every single day. I want to enjoy it just as much as I did when I was younger. I want to return to a time when this holiday was only about friends and family instead of dwelling on the expectation that I should be celebrating a romantic relationship. I'm so thankful for the fact that I get to love so many people in my life who then also love me in return. Why not take a day to remind ourselves of all the people who love and care for us every day?
