Valentine’s Day is Taking Too Much Heat

By Alyssa Cruz

Valentine’s Day. A day to celebrate love, friendship, and relationships. A day that is decked out in rosey pinks and deep reds. A day for witnessing cheesy marriage proposals at your local Olive Garden, and possibly eating ice cream alone on your couch watching The Notebook. The day is not only a great holiday, it also holds great historical value. But I’m not here to give you a history lesson, I am here to tell you why Valentine’s Day is not that bad, and even possibly the best holiday.

Alright, let’s first look at the facts. Most people who think Valentine’s Day is lame are either single people, or guys who are in a relationship that feel like they have the need to one up themselves from the previous year. So if you fall under the first category I have good news for you: Valentine’s Day is not just for couples! While it is usually associated with romantic love, you can use it as a day to show other types of love like friendship and familial love. Get your best friend some flowers, or buy your mom some chocolates. Maybe even get your dog or cat a new toy. Whatever you do, do it in love and express your feelings to that certain someone (or pet).

Now if you fall under that second category, don’t fret either. The key to a good Valentine’s Day present is not the price or the extravagance, but the feeling behind it. What a girl really wants is to feel special and loved, not to be showered with fancy gifts (but I mean, it can’t hurt). If you are a boyfriend (or a girlfriend), and are worried about how to top last year’s Valentine’s Day, take a second to and really think about your significant other and the ways they give and receive love. Lucky for you, author Gary Chapman has outlined how humans express their affection into these five categories: quality time, acts of service, physical touch, gift giving, and words of affirmation. Your sweetheart could fall into one of these categories, or all five, but they key is to find the strongest connection with one of them and go with that. If it’s quality time, plan a picnic or go bowling. If it’s acts of services, surprise them with a cleaned car or an organized locker. Whatever it is, make sure it comes from the heart. If none of these ideas work and your partner doesn’t appreciate the effort you put in, it may be time for you to move into the first category of Valentine’s Day haters- sorry.

The main thing to remember for Valentine’s Day is to not make it a big deal. Don’t overthink the significance of it. It was not created to make people feel bad about themselves, or to stress others out. It was created to celebrate the best thing on earth: love. Love for your friends, love for your other half, love for your family, but most importantly: love for yourself.