Valentine’s Day is for all

Heart-shaped candy, red roses, a box of chocolates –not much else is needed for the perfect Valentine’s Day celebration. Except, of course, a date to spend the special holiday with. Spending Valentine’s Day alone is an experience shared by the many people who have been unlucky in love, but should this really stop millions of people from celebrating the holiday? 

Essentially, it comes down to how you define love. I love my friends, I love my family (most of the time) and I love my dog, so why not celebrate that? But each year, once Feb. 14 rolls around, I hear the same constant hate about the holiday. It’s always something about how Valentine’s Day is only for people in relationships and how the rest of us should just stop celebrating at all. 

Personally, I’m sick of this narrative. Everyone celebrates holidays that they’re not directly involved with. There’s not an Irish bone in my body but I’ll throw on a green shirt on St. Patrick’s Day each year and celebrate with everyone else. Valentine’s Day is no different. 

When we were younger, we all celebrated Valentine’s day. Making cards for classmates and eating all the candy I wanted with friends was probably the highlight of my elementary school career. But as I’ve grown older, I’ve realized that many view Valentine’s day as a competition for who has a significant other by the time the day arrives. I want to bring back that feeling I got walking into school on Valentine’s Day; full of excitement just like every other holiday. 

I vote for what we all know as Galentine’s day. Although the name suggests that the celebration is just for girls, everyone can celebrate. Simply grabbing some of your closest friends and eating cheap candy from the Valentine’s section at Target shapes up to be a fun activity. It definitely beats sitting in your room, alone, pitying yourself for being single. 

I know I sound like just another single person trying to be included in Valentine’s Day, and I guess in a way, I am. But this Valentine’s day, I encourage everyone to do something to celebrate. Although it’s cheesy, there’s love all around.