The full thrust of Valentine's Day shall be upon us tomorrow. Yet, do you ever think about how non-inclusive this holiday is? Discriminatory really if you want to be brutally honest. Is everyone in the world in love?
If you think about it, this holiday is a psychological killer. We're taught from the age of 5 and up that we should be excited about the possibility of being someone's Valentine. You may remember that anticipation of getting to school to see if you got a card from that boy or girl you had a crush on. When you didn't, how sad did that make you? Crushed at such a young age. And that's just the start. Welcome to being in love!
There are pressures that go along with this special designated day. Do you get someone flowers? If you do, what colour? What message does that send? Do you buy another gift to go with the flowers? If you don't, do you come off as cheap or inconsiderate? Do you cook supper or go out with reservations you made 6 months ago. If you didn't make reservations and stand in line for 45 min, are you an idiot for not having put enough thought into it? If you go out with someone for Valentine's Day in what you think is a platonic sense, does that send a message of another sort?
Valentine's Day is stupid. There! I've said it out loud. It's an excuse to play John Michael Montgomery songs over and over and make single people want to grab a spoon and gag themselves. It's like a mini version of life. We, as a society, are told from a young age that we have to grow up, go to university, get a career, meet someone, get married, buy a house, make babies, and then retire in Arizona or Florida.
Guess what? You don't have to follow the laid out Valentine's Day path. You can buck the trend, ignore it, and be a happy single person all you want. As long as you're happy with who you are and how your life is, why should society go "oh honey" when you tell them you don't have any special plans for February 14th. Some of you may get that HIMYM Katy Perry reference.
February 14th to me, is my sister's birthday. That's why it's special. Happy Birthday sis!
Tia
V-Day is definitely an odd idea. It's mainly a commercial construct, but let's be thankful that we don't also have Sweetest Day, which is a second V-Day that some states celebrate. Twice a year would be way too much. Being married, I actually like V-Day (because I'm a sucker for presents), but when I was single I hated it. Funny that we put so much emphasis on a holiday that makes half of us feel kind of bad. But, hey, you can still be my Valentine!
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