The week before Valentines Day is excruciatingly annoying to me. It’s not the overwhelming amount of heart shaped things. (Even at church the background pictures for the music projections had landscapes with heart shaped islands or ponds.) It’s not the various shades of pink and red decorations in every store window. The thing that bugs me is that I really could care less about February 14th until the week before. In that one-week, there are messages from commercials, TV shows, stores, and people in general, that target single people. They either try to make you feel ashamed for being alone or they try to make Valentine’s Day into a holiday to celebrate “friendship.” I want to say that the latter of these ploys is to sell more decorations full price by encouraging “singles” parties, and the former is to get depressed single women to buy up the left over chocolate boxes the day after. I am fine with these marketing ploys as long as I can plan accordingly to avoid them. But living in a dorm, along with impressionable international students, we are pushed into the “friendship” Valentine’s Day “celebrating.”
I tried to avoid making a Valentine’s Day box when I got the notice that their would be a floor Valentine’s Day box making night. My RA tried to tempt us by saying she would give us candy on Valentine’s Day if we made one. She left all the crafting supplies out, and finally after seeing them sitting there for 4 days, I gave in.
Just being single in a college town with many other young single women, I was invited to one of these “singles” parties. I don’t want to say that these things are wrong. It’s just not in the right spirit of Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day is about romantic love. The United States is so united that it has this problem with letting holidays be for just one set of people. For example, Christmas (Christians & Santa Worshipers), Chanukkah (Jewish people), Kwanza (African Americans), Boxing Day (British people). No one wants to be left out of Christmas so they have to call it something else if they have a different religion or no religion at all.
The same thing has happened with Valentine’s Day. No one wants to be left out of the festivities, but it’s hard to kiss some one who’s not there. So let’s get all our friends over for a party to celebrate being single in a room full of red and pink hearts that say things like “I luv you” or “kiss me” or “be mine.” Have your parties if you want. It’ll be fun. But why can’t we just leave Valentine’s Day for the lovers that buy heart shaped pendants, over priced roses, and chocolates for their significant others. Because I just like to see this day as something to look forward to when I’m no longer single. (If that will ever happen.) So for all you couples out there, YOU BETTER DO SOMETHING ROMANTIC because February 14th is for you. Even if everyone else thinks it’s for them too.
