Valentine’s Day is the one day every year that is solely dedicated to the apparently hopelessly, shamelessly and deeply in love couples that are just so cute it makes you want to vomit.
Instagram posts pile up, showing the wildly romantic gestures that everyone’s boyfriend has pulled out, making a show of how happy they are. But, in the end, Valentine’s day is actually pretty sad, because once the day ends and the gifts are given, relationships go back to what they really are: boring.
Singleness is given a bad rep on Valentine’s Day, and I feel like that’s unwarranted. Being single kind of rocks, and it’s way more fun than being attached to someone at the hip. What if I wanted to buy myself a horrendous amount of chocolate (and not feel bad about it), watch a movie in my old pajamas and go to bed at nine, but my boyfriend wanted to go out to dinner and dessert? That may look nice and cute, but if we’re being honest, it would be exhausting, and not what you truly want. But you can’t admit that when you’re in a relationship because, well, that would be rude, and you would look weird.
I think that a new take on Valentine’s is past overdue. Sure, some might say that singleness can be celebrated anyday, but I think that if a day is meant to celebrate love, then it can be used to celebrate the lack of it too. Girls are constantly feeling the need to say things like, “pizza is my valentine this year,” or “I’ll be drowning my sorrows in a chocolate fountain tonight,” purely because they feel the need to point out that yes, indeed, they are still single (just like what I’m doing right now in this very article). There shouldn’t be any need for this! Single life is fun, and Valentine’s Day should at least point that out.
Valentine’s day is basically Cinderella’s ball. Everyone is happy and soaking in all the love, Prince Charming is actually charming, the girls are dressed to the nines, but then right as the clock strikes midnight, it’s back to rags. Sure, Cinderella’s Prince Charming may have continued to put in the effort to find her and win her over, but in real life, boys think that their job is over after leaving chocolates and a stuffed bear with the phrase, “I Love You Beary Much!” stitched across the stomach on the porch for you to find. And for a moment you think your boyfriend is the best ever and loves you oh so much, and then you see 17 other Instagram stories about everyone else’s boyfriend loving them beary much too and realize that, wow, this day kind of really sucks.
Written by Point Loma Nazarene University sophomore, Kate Cyr.
Grace Gaines