An event I truly never thought would happen
For the very first time in my 19 years, I have someone to spend Valentine’s Day with. Now, I know that this holiday is really just an opportunity for corporations to capitalize off of emotions and people’s love of chocolate. But as a hopeless romantic, I have always seen the holiday in a different light. Something about the hearts, the candy, and the positive feelings made me grow to love and hate the Hallmark holiday. I loved the idea of sharing the day with someone I cared about and I hated that I never did.
For myself and many people my age, it can be hard to find someone with similar outlooks on relationships. Whether it be due to the surge of hook-up culture, new terms like “situationships”, or social media, it is hard for teenagers to not internalize these events and believe that they are the reason they are not in a relationship. Even if they are in a relationship, it can be difficult to determine if they are truly happy with that person or just with the idea of them. My friends and I have had many conversations about this exact topic, and the amount of shared experiences speaks volumes. Especially in college, it can sometimes feel like everyone has someone. Whether it be casual or serious, mutual or one-sided, a lot of people have someone else to focus their attention and energy. And when you don’t, it can feel as though you are the problem. For so many girls in their teens, it can be damaging to not have that other person, and even more hurtful if they never have a person point blank period.
However, I am now in a place where I can look back to when I felt this way and use my current experiences to change the narrative. There are so many things I wish I could tell my younger self about love. This time of year has made me reflect on them even more. Having the opportunity to spend Valentine’s Day with someone I really care about is something that I have always wanted, as well as something that I deserve. In the past, it just felt like a fairytale. Something that sounded nice in theory, but would never ever be a reality. But now that I have been able to live this fairytale, I think my outlook has forever changed on the holiday. Whether in the future I have someone to be with on February 14th or not, I have grown to realize that being in a relationship is not a reflection of my appearance, my worth, my intelligence or my character. It is simply just an arbitrary holiday that should be celebrated with Reeses Hearts (the best kind of Reeses), cheesy rom-coms and surrounded by people who care about you. Because that is what true love is.