I want to start this off by saying, I don't hate Valentine's Day. I don't hate love or relationships or treating yourself. I'm not a hater of anything that celebrates love.
But I will say, that even though this is my second Valentine's Day that I have a boyfriend in my life, I don't like how alienating Valentine's Day can feel. There is so much pressure sometimes, whether you're single or not, in our social media culture for big, extravagant gestures. On this one day, once a year. And it's always all over social media. For me, it highlights the huge problem of compassion in our culture today.
Everyone running out and grabbing chocolates, flowers, expensive dinners, etc. for one day just kind of bums me out. I would rather be truly surprised at romantic gestures throughout the year than put pressure on myself and by S.O. to make one day special because everyone else does.
And then there are all the single people. All the people who feel pressure to find a valentine or feel left out because they don't have someone to celebrate the day with. They see all the taken people in their life boasting and posting about how great the person in their life is on their social media highlight reel.
The idea of Valentine's Day is lovely, don't get me wrong. The idea that people can celebrate love and appreciate each other is an incredible concept. However, like most things, over time it seems to have gotten blown out of proportion. I feel like this is also one of the specific times that FOMO and social media heavily influence others and make them feel left out by comparison.
For me, being in a relationship is so special, and I don't need big expensive gestures to enjoy my time with that person. Joe and I haven't been dating super long, so I don't know what it feels like when you get into a routine and you're bogged down with life struggles. Maybe Valentine's Day is your way of remembering to take time to show someone you care. And that's poetic to me. But, why do so many people post it on social media? Why can't we do that and enjoy our time together? Instead of bragging about gestures from one day of the year, instead of just enjoying what you have in your life.
To me, since I have been since for most of my Valentine's Day's, I've always made Valentine's Day about the people I love in my life. My mom used to wake up really early on our birthday's and on Valentine's Day and surprise me and my brother with brownies for the holiday. Something simple and sweet. I remember that at times my heart would feel heavy when I saw all my friends and their boyfriends celebrating.
But at the end of the day, it's just a day. Like prom, New Year's Eve or any other holiday that never turns out quite like you want it to. And we have to remember that even when we see so many people doing so many fun things all at once, that not everything is all it's cracked up to be. Highlight reels are not real. You are. And the people in your life who love you are.
