I am currently single, but completely by my own choice. Sometimes I think about what it would be like to be in a relationship again, but I am not completely sure if that is what I am looking for right now. Lately, I have been seeing Valentine’s Day decorations everywhere and it makes me feel two things: wistful and nauseated.

There is a part of me that buys into the romantic vibe of Valentine’s Day, but it is such a tremendous amount of effort for one arbitrary day. I genuinely like the aesthetic of Valentine’s Day, though. First of all, the colors are beautiful and warm. One of my favorite colors is blush pink, which fits right into the color scheme of the holiday. I am also a huge fan of chocolate so when stores roll out their Valentine’s Day displays, I pick up assorted chocolates for myself. I also like to find some decorations for my room while I am looking though the displays. I am not necessarily a fan of all the hearts, but thankfully not everything is centered on an abundance of them. Personally, I am more into decorations that are subtly romantic, such as things with lace, tulle, and/or soft colors. For me, subtle is key when it comes to decorations for this particular holiday.

While I do have somewhat of a soft spot for Valentine’s Day, I still do not particularly like it. Most people simply assume that I do not like it because I am single and most likely bitter, but I honestly have not been too fond of Valentine’s Day since I was a child. And yes, I am single, but this particular day does not inherently make that fact more abundantly true than any other day of the year. In fact, I feel a sense of relief being single on Valentine’s Day because I do not have to worry about putting in a ridiculous amount of effort to make someone I am involved with feel truly appreciated. As a side note, large romantic gestures tend to make me feel extremely uncomfortable so I am dodging a bullet in being single during this month. Just like with decorations, I like my romantic gestures simple. I do not think there would be any time that I would want someone to be ridiculously overdone with Valentine’s Day. The idea of that honestly makes me want to cringe a little.

It may sound like I am being a bitter single girl about Valentine’s Day coming up, but I honestly do not feel bitter about the fact I do not have a valentine this year. Realistically, I am looking forward to buying myself some half priced chocolate on February 15 and avoiding making dinner reservations three weeks in advance.