“What are you expecting to get for Valentine’s Day this year?”
“A snap from Team Snapchat”
This has become a common response from the people who are cynical and have come to hate Valentines Day. The holiday that was once a representation of love and affection for the people around you has become a commercialized day for buying candy.
As a result this holiday is hardly the frontrunner for favorite holidays. People openly hate on this holiday and even refer to it as SAD Day (Singles Awareness Day). Yes it is redundant, but I didn’t come up with it.
I am proposing, however, a way to overcome this hate. I want to bring Valentines Day back to what it originally intended. I am not going to get technical about the history of St. Valentines Day and what Saint Valentine actually did, mostly because I don’t really know the History.
What I do want to talk about is about the idea of what Valentine’s Day should represent. Caring about one another, and expressing your appreciation and love for the people in your life. It is all too often that we get caught up in the motion of life.
We get too busy with class, work, and social media that we forget the people that are right in front of us. I am not saying that this is everyone and I am not saying that we aren’t grateful at times, but a lot of the time we are not doing as much as we can for the ones that mean the most to us.
As you’re reading this I am sure an image has popped into your head about someone in your life that you care about. This could be your significant other, a friend, your roommate, or maybe your parents. You care about that person, and more likely, you love them.
But have you told them lately? Not in a text message, or a quick “I love you” when you get off of the phone, but a genuine and honest “I appreciate you”. Everyone in this world has different love languages, which means that you show your love for your loved ones in a unique way, but people will always be happy when being told that they are loved and appreciated.
Now back to Valentines Day for a quick moment. Most people when buying gifts go for the big red heart filled with chocolates and the bouquet of roses. They think that is the best gift for their significant other because it is the biggest and the best.
Chances are, if you’re reading this, you are in college. You probably don’t have all the money in the world to be spending on chocolates and flowers. To add to that, a lot of people are vegan, and they can’t eat a lot of chocolates. Or if you live in Monterey county you probably don’t want to support the commercial flower industry because it could be argued that it is wasting water.
Back to my discussion about telling people that you appreciate them. I think that this is a great way to avoid contributing to commercialism and remind the people around you that you love them.
My idea is not original, but it also isn’t expensive. I propose that you write a letter. Write a letter to your significant other, or your mom, or even your roommate. Tell them all the things that you appreciate about them, and name all of your favorite memories with that person. Then read them that letter. Don’t just hand it to them, but read it to them.
Kudos to you if you hand write that letter because chances are you don’t hand write a lot of things any more. I think that this is a great way to get back to the original intention behind Valentine’s Day.
Maybe by now you think that I am crazy or you probably already bought gifts for people, but I think that it is worth trying. There is nothing wrong with telling someone how you feel.
I hope that everyone who reads this has a good experience with their letters and that maybe they take a second from their busy lives to appreciate the ones they love. I know that I am a cheesy romantic so I hope that some of that rubs off on all of you through this article, so that you can feel loved.
Happy Valentines Day from The Lutrinae. <3
Possible pull quotes: People openly hate on this holiday
Don’t just hand it to them, but read it to them
a genuine and honest “I appreciate you”
