It is understandable that a line has been drawn in the sand. Dating being what it is today and relationships operating on a grand opening grand closing style of commitment there is no wonder so many hate the 14^th of February. For the many who revile the day it is not due to a lack of love or passion as it is they just love to hate valentine’s day with a passion. We’ve all been there. Few things in this life are absolute but for anyone who has been in love one thing most certainly is and that is Valentine’s day is no sure thing.

It was during the 18th century when Valentine's Day was ushered in as the traditional outlet for the expression of love. Some would say we have all been brainwashed ever since into believing the day matters. But there are others, for instance anyone who is currently a “boo” or a “bae” or a “wcw” or a “zaddy” that may see things a little different. To them Valentine’s Day is an all-day affair of appreciation for that special someone for whom they have opened their hearts. If the latter group feels a little too cheesy and corny for your taste that’s because they are. They’re supposed to be.

This time of the year evokes in us that kind of sappy sentimental spirit which infects our hearts and minds while simultaneously forcing our bodies to run out and purchase lavish gifts, bouquets of flowers and confectionary delights. All with designs on wooing a crush or celebrating and sometimes even appeasing a significant other. It must be then that those who despise the tradition of a valentine ad nauseam because for them the only evocation is in fact nauseam are thinking with a clearer head than everyone else? Well, not necessarily, one must remember there are levels to this shit.

Usually those levels consist of either up or down. Ask yourself how often has Valentine’s Day been like a roller-coaster on a merry-go-round since the notion entered your conscious? All of us have succumbed to its lure at some or another and we have all taken a ride for the thrill of it more than once along our romantic journeys.

One year you can be uncontrollably smitten and in love with the day and the very next you're single and uncontrollably smug about it. The mere mention of Valentine’s Day can conjure mixed emotional reactions that range from the "awww’s" to the "uugh’s." That, is Valentine's day in one gloriously agonizing nutshell.

How is it possible that such an innocuous day on the calendar can bring about so much love and emotion while simultaneously creating plenty of havoc and consternation? If you really think about it, Valentine's day is not that harmless at all. No matter which side your feelings lie regarding the day there is little doubt it has provided all of us with some measure of stress whether it be the good or the bad type.

The truth is Valentine's day is only good, until it isn't. The people who currently love it will most likely be experiencing its splendor and bliss this week while the folks who hate it will almost definitely be looking forward to the weeks end. We will together be a population of hearts divided.

On one side, there will be crushes and couples uttering declarations of undying love, the cuddling of cute tickly teddy bears, passionate sweaty sex--some for the first and only time this year--and of course chocolate.

On the other will be the single curmudgeons avoiding all contact with their friends and social media to avoid witnessing this sickening display of affection while coming up with rabid attempts to try and convince themselves that it is just another day. Passionate, sweaty masturbation will ensue, and of course there will be chocolate. Which goes with or without the distinction of having valentine attached to it.

We invest so much in either reveling in its delight or reeling from its demise from our love lives that it has established an indifference for the entire occasion. Whatever side you find yourselves during this year’s Valentine’s Day there is no denying that we've all been conditioned by it. We think and feel in weird ways we normally may not while acting strange in ways where in most cases we probably would not. Maybe we have been brainwashed.