Love; a crazy, wonderful, magical thing. Before you click away from this article assuming it'll be mushy or gooey about someone who is in love, stay for a while and take in these thoughts being proposed to you.

Love comes in many forms, you can love your mom. You can love that shirt you bought! You can love your friend Julia who always makes you laugh. You can love that lady who smiled at you on the street. You can love the smell in the air or the color in the sky. You can love that guy or girl who gives you the world. But remember to love yourself.

Self-love is constantly looked past, but it is becoming more up and coming in society. More people are becoming aware of how important it is. But in society today it’s hard to love yourself when you are told from a very young age to love someone else and loving someone else should be your main goal in life. Love is shown to be what makes you happy in life but don’t be confused on the type of love. Love is all around, loving the earth, loving each other, and loving yourself are all types of love that can fulfill the happiness the world wants you to achieve.

Love is shoved down our throats at a very young age with movies, books, comics, songs, tv shows, musicals, etc. It sets us up for failure in the relationship department because based off of the fairytales I read my prince charming was supposed to come long ago and whisk me away from the “terrible” life I live. Fairytales have created a fantasy land for those who wish to believe it and although that is their job, is it wrong? Is it wrong for a 4-year-old to believe that to be reality? Is it wrong to grow up with a false sense of what love really is?

What do these stories teach us? What is their purpose? Maybe to give us a sense of hope or faith or something to look forward to. Maybe to create a fantasy land for adults pretending to be kids. All these unanswered questions and not really a clear answer because no one can define love, no one can show its true meaning.

Sometimes love comes with loss, this, in my opinion, is the worst part of love. It demolishes sense of self, sense of worth, and self-love. Many have experienced heartbreak, loss of love but many and almost all have recovered. It all starts with realizing worth, self-worth and that this will pass because although it seems cheesy, time heals all. I, myself am still in the healing process of heartbreak but I am realizing my worth and learning how to truly, genuinely love myself.

With all of this in mind, the holiday coming up in February, Valentine’s Day seems to be a hard day for most of those who are single. Keep in mind that having a night with your girlfriends, or your “bros” is OK. It is OK to even be alone. Take this time to enjoy yourself, relax, and love the things around you. Even if you are in a relationship, take time to yourself, don't lose yourself in the other person because if it ends who will you be without them?

You may be asking yourself how you can love yourself and how to appreciate yourself. There are so many ways but my favorite include taking a long warm bubble bath, listening to some old music that reminds me of a happy time, baking cookies, watching a “chick flick,” talking to my mom or an old friend. These might not work for you so find things that make you happy in order to adore yourself.

I hope this article found you well and will help you remember to love yourself and take care of you because at the end of the day you always have yourself.