It's almost Valentine's Day, which is personally one of my all time favorite holidays. Not because I am a fan of love or a romantic, which honestly I am, but because I find the holiday utterly ridiculous. I say this with a grain of salt, as I do plan on celebrating, but I think it's stupid to designate one day a year to your partner to be romantic and sappy. That's not the point though, the point is that we don't need a partner to be awesome and here are some the best examples of that.
1. The Komodo Dragon
In case you don't know what a Komodo Dragon is, let me enlighten you.
It is essentially a giant, scary, modern day dragon with a heart of gold. Komodo dragons are freaking awesome. If you haven't decided on a spirit animal yet, I would highly recommend choosing the Komodo dragon. Here's why: females don't need a male to fertilize them to reproduce. That's right. They are both asexual and sexual animals, if you haven't take biography yet let me break that down for you: if the female doesn't feel like it, she can just clone herself to reproduce. Thank you Komodo Dragon for making it clear to all of us that it's alright to be alone.
2. Leslie Knope.
In a perfect world, everyone would have seen "Parks and Recreation", a show that aired from 2009-2015. In the show, Leslie Knope is a shining star in her apathetic local governments, she the deputy director of the Parks and Recreation Department. She's brilliant, productive, smart, goofy, loving and everything one can aspire to be. In the show, Leslie celebrates "Galentine's Day." A day for celebrating her female friends. This Valentine's Day, I want more Galentine's Day, or if you want a guy term Guyintine's Day, or for a gender neutral term, Cute Lil' Friends Day. The point is, platonic love is important and we need more of it. Thank you Leslie Knope.
3. Jan Levison
The mean version of Leslie Knope: Jan Levinson, played by Melora Hardin, the professional and uptight face of the corporate side of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, in the hit show "The Office". Jan is a bad ass babe, who upon deciding that there's no wrong time to do what you want to do, goes to a sperm bank and has a baby. The real kicker here is that she does it while dating the famous Michael Scott, which to this day is still one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Thank you Jan Levinson for being a shining example of taking matters into your own hands.
4. Starfish.
Similar to our pal the Komodo dragon, Starfish can reproduce asexually, through a process called fission. Essentially, they can break off their arms and legs and clone themselves. Fascinating.
Thank you starfish, for being a true example, and showing that sometimes, it really does take an arm and a leg.
5. Wasp Spiders.
What says I love you more than eating your partner immediately after mating? Only one thing: ripping off your sex organs into the female so no one else can mate with her. Male wasp spiders are petty. They've come up with this great idea so that their genetics are carried on, and even though they are eaten after mating, they still found a way to ruin their partners chances with another spider.
I could have gone my whole life without knowing that a wasp spider exists, and an even longer life without knowing their petty mating habits.
Thank you wasp spider, not for existing, but for showing us that sometimes you just have to chose your battles, swallow your pride, and be alone rather than eaten this season.
