Junior English major
Years of repetitive romantic comedies have led us to believe Valentine’s Day is for the couples of the world to be all gushy and googly-eyed with each other, while the single people mope over a pint of Ben and Jerry’s and wait for someone to find them in a February snowstorm and declare their undying love.
What is meant to be the most romantic day of the year has turned into a day when couples feel obligated to go out and celebrate, while the singles of the world stay home, binge-watch Netflix and eat the clearance heart-shaped candy from Rite Aid.
Of course there are couples who just love to celebrate their love, but there are also single people who are as bitter as the discounted dark chocolate at the drug store, whining about being like the “forever alone” meme. These people are prone to extreme diatribes about how Valentine’s Day has become a holiday created by consumerism and the greeting card industry; they rant about how being single ostracizes them from participating in Valentine’s Day.
Single or not, the individuals who call Valentine’s Day a capitalist holiday created by the corporate industry are attention-seekers. To these people, Valentine’s Day is just another thing to protest about. Despite their vehemence against the holiday, their complaining is actually a roundabout way of acknowledging it. If they really don’t want the holiday to infiltrate their lives, then they should just ignore it, go see some horror movie and fight a different, more important crusade.
Singles who feel isolated from the day dedicated to Cupid need to understand they don’t need to be paired up like the animals from Noah’s Ark to celebrate Valentine’s Day. The single people who claim to feel alone on the holiday bring that feeling upon themselves. I’m not saying they choose to be single, but they choose to feel alone. They need to realize they can celebrate the holiday with people they love in a nonromantic way.
Saint Valentine, the day’s namesake, is indeed remembered for marrying people in secret during tyrannical Roman rule back in the day, thus establishing the day’s theme of romantic love. But love means love in all forms. It’s not limited to your significant other. Love can be extended to anyone important. You can send your mom a valentine to thank her for sending that care package; you can celebrate Valentine’s Day like you did in elementary school and give all your friends Pokémon valentines; or you can simply stay home with your best friend, eat greasy carryout and watch Scandal. You can choose to spend the day with whomever you love.
Don’t be bothered about being single and about being barraged by inflatable hearts, cardboard cupids and advertisements for candlelight dinners when you are out today. Either ignore the red and pink dress code and Nat King Cole soundtrack, or appreciate everyone else you love in your life and celebrate your relationships with them.
Maggie Cassidy is a sophomore English major. She can be reached as maggie.a.cassidy@gmail.com.
