Be My Valentine...

A student told me today I am "boring". Now, I certainly don't consider myself "boring" and the people who know me best know that I am far from "boring", but I guess if he was referring to my lack of excitement about the upcoming Hallmark holiday, well, I could be considered "boring".

I don't get overly-excited about Valentine's Day. And, for you conclusion-jumpers out there, it is NOT because I have been single just about every Valentine's Day for the greater part of my existence on this earth. I've celebrated a few (read two) very nice Valentine's Day as a partner in a pair and I've celebrated some very un-nice (read two) ones as well. It's also not because I don't get overwhelmed with flowers, chocolates, jewelry, etc every February 14th.

I don't get excited for Valentine's Day for two main reasons.

First, I'm not sure why we have a day dedicated to love. Isn't there something wrong when we have to support Hallmark's madness just to tell those in our lives who mean a lot to us that we love them? Shouldn't this be part of our daily existence? Why does there have to be a "day"? Why can't this just be the norm??

Second, my biggest reason for not liking Valentine's Day is the self-pity and self-put downs people impose on themselves when they are single at Valentine's Day. Most often than not, this refers to those who feel they are worthless for not being in a relationship. I also get annoyed by those people who are in relationships who think people of single-status are lower-class citizens at Valentine's Day because they aren't in relationships. These two things drive me nuts.

For starters, if you feel obliged to celebrate Valentine's Day, celebrate it for the right reasons -- that we are all surrounded by love in many forms -- love of family, love of friends, love of co-workers, etc. Valentine's Day, if it's about anything, should be about the appreciation of love that people share for each other, in various forms, not just in the form of love for one's partner. I hope those single people like myself out there can be proud of the fact that they're perhaps holding on to the hope that the great relationship is around the corner, and if they're not looking for that, perhaps they are holding on to the fact that they're strong, independent, and capable of feeling good about their lives, including your single status, on a daily basis.

It's completely acceptable to celebrate Valentine's Day -- I just hope that we can start building the spirit of this day more formally into our everyday lives -- life is too short to forget to tell people as much as possible what they mean to us -- we shouldn't need a day to remind us to do so. Spread the love, friends, on a daily basis. Celebrate it often, not just when Hallmark and the calendar tells you to.