Why I love today

I always have trouble explaining why Valentine’s day is one of my all-time favourite holidays. It’s for sure not because of great experiences. It suffices to say that I have yet to receive as much as a single card on the fourteenth. However, simply put; how can anyone hate a day that revolves around chocolate and, to a lesser extent, love?

I know that there’s a lot of single people out there who feel frustrated or even mocked by this holiday as it seems designed to point out how lonely it is to be on your own. I have felt that way, of course. But I’m pretty sure that it is actually mostly the endless parade of posts and memes on Facebook telling me how awful Valentine’s is and how pathetic the single life is that bum me out. It is definitely not the pictures of received bouquets or the stories I hear about secret admirers and candle-lit dinners.

Here’s why; it gives me hope. And I’m not talking about hope for my own life, because that’s a whole other story. I’m talking about hope for romance and for humanity and for caring about each other in the most frivolous kind of way. Confession; each year I rant about the importance of romantic gestures to my family who roll their eyes, mock me, say I’ve got it all wrong and how stupid it all is. I don’t care, because in the end they always come through for their significant other and each year I smile at the lovely gestures by which they show their affection and love. I think that’s wonderful.

Of course, the haters are a little bit right; love should be shown every single day. But reality is a bit different and coming from a family of romantically impaired people, I think that a day devoted to love and showing that love is the absolute perfect excuse for doing that little bit extra. And that gives me hope because as long as we can still do that, as long as we can still celebrate the love we have for each other or for ourselves: I think the world is not that horrible a place just yet.

But what if you are that single person, feeling bitter and alone and forced into a day of confronting all that pent-up loneliness? Well, honestly, buy yourself some chocolate or whatever you enjoy binging on, get comfy with a movie or do something you particularly enjoy and just make that little extra effort, but for yourself.