Valentine's Day was never a huge deal for me. Sure, I loved dropping cards in brown paper bags in elementary school and choosing who got the "good" cards, and who got the "lame" ones. Pink and red candy and Valentine's Day dances dominated middle school, and it was always very important to carry Lipsmackers in your oversized sequin crossbody.
High school rolled around, and that's when Valentine's Day was really emphasized for me. Girls had huge stuffed animals and flowers delivered to the school, and that was always when the prom invitations broke out. I won't lie, I was obsessed with the holiday through my high school career-- I couldn't wait to see what my boyfriend got for me and could hardly contain my excitement over what I got him.
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This new term started to float around a few weeks ago, and as a college freshman, I'd never heard it.
Galentine's Day.
What is it, you ask? Galentine's Day is the embodiment of girl power and self love. Girls everywhere are spending time with their gal pals on Valentine's Day and embracing those things that bring them together. Cute Instagram posts, cheesy cards, and surprising their friends with their favorite things are all small pieces that have helped compose this movement.
This isn't to discredit the romantic nature of the holiday; seeing cute couples do cute couple things is still as entertaining and pleasing as it was before this idea circulated. I love seeing my friends post about what their boyfriends did for them on this special day, but I also love seeing my best friends pour out love to each other in ways that they don't normally do.
Watching people display these acts of affection is refreshing, especially considering the day and age we live in. Hearing my friends talk about their Galentine's Day party where they ate food that they swore they'd run off at the gym tomorrow and watched cheesy movies. Seeing them post about their Galentine on social media has helped melt some of this ice off of my heart.
I've always been the practical, emotionally unavailable one who keeps everyone level in my friend group, and even I have caught myself talking about my Galentines-- and quite frankly, this time of year is so much more fun now that I'm not worried about being sad about not having a (probably subpar) guy take me to dinner.
Truth be told, this movement is one that I'd like to see reoccur for years to come. We don't have to have a guy on Valentine's Day to have a good time. This isn't to say that it's bad or wrong to have a significant other to spend the day with (I'm not that cynical), just to emphasize that it isn't imperative to be romantically involved with someone to enjoy the day. Isn't the entire premise of this holiday to spread love anyways? Doesn't seem like there's any discrimination as to who or how to spread that love. To be honest, laying around watching The Bachelor in my pajamas with my best friends sounds much more pleasing than getting dressed up and going out with someone who can't bring me the happiness that my gals can.
Happy Galentine's Day, sistas-- may your chocolate be rich and wine be richer. xoxo
