Valentine’s Day is, hands down, the worst holiday.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. That I’m some young, bitter, single girl that has too much free time on her hands so she’s writing an article about her feelings.
If you think that, you’re partially right. Yeah I’m single, but not bitter about it, so just stick with me here.

Valentine’s Day is the worst for a number of reasons.

Choosing one day to show your love is ridiculous. If you’re dating someone and you use one specific day of the year to show them you love them, then why are you with them? A healthy relationship should be one where love is expressed every day. If you want to buy your significant other flowers, don’t wait until a specific day. If you want to ask your crush on a date, don’t worry about what the calendar says. Expressing love should not be restricted to a day, so don’t let it.

Another reason why this special holiday is the worst is that it is fake.

People give cliché gifts to each other to validate “true love,” but why couldn’t you do it any other day of the year? People constantly try to outdo each other and have insta-worthy photos, to document the entire night. I’ve seen too many photos of roses, heart shaped boxes of cheap chocolates, teddy bears and for those “swinging for the fences,” diamonds. It’s all so perfunctory and conversation hearts taste like chalk, just sayin’.
Come on guys, be original.

Girls want to be able to get together and talk about what their boyfriends bought them, but what’s the point? Who’s keeping score? A relationship is between two people, so who cares whether or not other people like your idea of a fun day with your significant other.

While advertising your love is great, whatever, don’t be showy about it. I get it though, if you’re dating someone, you’re probably going to post a collage of you guys together with a sappy quote or lyric that you feel applies to your life. And I’ll probably “like” it for you, why not. I might even be the wing girl who takes some of the photos. Single friends are good for those tasks. I can tolerate that. But what I can’t stand is when a girl talks about Valentine’s day for weeks to come before it, and then when the day finally comes, she brags about how perfect it was. There’s a line between being a cute couple and being fake just because of the time of year, and that I do not like.

And to be honest, no one really cares.
You might think that people care, but in five minutes no one will even remember what your boyfriend got you, other than you. So don’t care what others think in the first place. It’ll save you time and worry.

False impressions is probably the biggest reason why I dislike this holiday. Many people seem to think that the amount of money put into a gift somehow shows how much love a couple has between them. If a guy buys the biggest teddy bear and some chocolates, it doesn’t magically make him an amazing boyfriend. People tend to think that the more a couple does to celebrate Valentine’s day directly, correlates to the love they have for each other. A guy can still be a total jerk and spend a ton of money on flowers. One day of buying gifts has nothing to do with how they are as a person.

And if you spend money by being single, people take pity on you.

Why do people do this, year after year? Yeah, you’re single, so what? No one cares if you’re single any other Sunday, so February 14 shouldn’t matter if you’re dating someone or not either. So many girls have said that they NEED a date for this special date. One of my friends said this recently, and when I asked why, she said she didn’t know. People that are content with being alone any other day of the year seem to have a problem with February 14.

The media makes it seem as if you don’t have a significant other, you should just give up for the night, hibernate. Buy some red wine, chocolate, tissues, a romantic movie and cry while staying in all alone. That’s a good post break up plan, but it’s not necessary to do this Sunday night. The pressure to be dating during this time of year is so strong that people subconsciously believe it. But it’s time to ditch that idea right now. Get up and go out with some friends. Don’t think that you have to be tied to your couch with that wine and chocolate (unless that’s your ideal night, then go right ahead).

One thing that’s far worse than being single on this day is when you’re just beginning a relationship. You know that it doesn’t make sense to do anything abnormally special because you don’t even know them that well yet. But years of seeing romantic commercials have the idea that he might do a grand gesture and ask to be official, or cover your room in roses, or sweep you of your feet and surprise you with that Tiffany necklace you’ve been wanting. Awkward.

Something I haven’t experienced yet, but might be equally awkward, is Valentine’s day for couples, who have been dating for a long time. There’s the expectation of a ring, and anything less than that will most likely cause some tension. If not outwardly expressed, it will be obvious that someone is not happy with the gifts. We’ve seen enough commercials to know that “every kiss begins with Kay,” “he should’ve gone to Jareds,” and “crystal gets closer to the body than ever before.” These have set in our mind that Valentine’s Day is THE day to announce your love in a whole new way. Talk about pressure!
Honestly, thank God I don’t know what that pressure feels like yet, but I don’t look forward to those days. Actually, after being a positive single girl, I better not have to wait for that overdue ring!

If you really love someone, then you should care about them every single day. Show your love on a daily basis in simple unique ways. Being a jerk can’t be made up with roses on 2/14. Basically, love is something that can’t be adequately expressed on one day. Love is more complex than presents, dinner, and flowers. We need to stop giving it so much hype every single year. And being single is fine! Just remember that it is just another day.