Listen, I would consider myself a pretty positive and optimistic person. However, it is hard for me to be positive about a certain holiday, aka Valentine’s Day. I’ll admit, I’m sure most of the bitterness and disdain I have for Valentine’s Day comes from the fact that I have been single for my 19 years of Valentine’s Days, but nevertheless, this holiday just really doesn’t do anything for me. I promise I have my reasons besides the fact that I’m single, and I promise they are (mostly) valid.
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First of all, if you are not in a relationship, it is hard to celebrate. It has been marketed as a romantic holiday, to show your love for your partner with sweet and grand gestures. And yes, while I understand it’s really just a day to show love to everyone in your life, like your parents or friends (which is the only way I can receive valentines), this isn’t how the holiday is marketed, which makes the holiday a bit harder to celebrate if the love you want to show isn’t romantic.
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Secondly, for the people who are romantically celebrating it, there’s huge pressure to make sure everything is perfect, with the perfect gift, and the perfect date. It’s a lot of unnecessary pressure for one day when you could really just be a good romantic partner all year round! This pressure often just leads to either an upsetting Valentine’s Day or a disappointed partner for the rest of the year.
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Third, it’s a holiday created to make money. Pretty much every other holiday (and I could be wrong about this) have religious reasonings or cultural/political backgrounds. The history behind Valentine’s Day is actually quite gruesome but is now supposed to be the day for love.
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There are so many more reasons I dislike this day, but I want to end this negative article on a positive note. I’m sure the right person will be able to sway my opinion on Valentine’s Day, but for now, I am going to go about my life disliking it. I just feel like there shouldn’t be one day out of 365 (or 366) days to show your partner, crush, sister, best friend, parents, and YOURSELF how much you love them, with cheesy gifts and chocolates. You should show them you care for and love them every single day with the actions and words you use. Love shouldn’t just be celebrated this one day, love should be celebrated each and every day.
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Thank you for coming to my Her Campus article.