Valentine's Day, also known as Single Awareness Day, has taken on a role in this country as a retail driven holiday. It is estimated that there is over a hundred dollars spent per person in America just for the holiday. This has caused so many to loathe February 14th more than any other day of the year. They hate the dashed dreams and high hopes of the holiday and find it pointless to celebrate. However I love the holiday! I love love. And I love that there is a whole day where I can celebrate it!

This may be because I was raised with Valentine's Day as a family day. My parents would get us each some chocolates and then send us a rose at school. They also always did cute things for each other of course. My dad would send roses to my moms desk and work and my mom would always came up with some cute, punny gift. Usually my sisters and I would make homemade cards for each of our family members. We gave gifts because we wanted to show our love towards each other, and there was never any expectations of expensive jewelry or over the top plans. This experience has instilled in me a positive outlook on Valentines day.

How can those who hate the Day of Love come to appreciate it? Its all in perspective. I think that Valentine's Day shouldn't just be about the significant others in your life, but also all the people around you who you love! Or maybe people that just need some love. Valentines Day should be about spreading happiness and serving others. The day shouldn't just be focused on romantic love, but friendship and family, too! You just have to make it about the people instead of about romance.

This may sound hard, but it can be simple. One of my favorite things to do is buy a cheap box of Valentines and hand them out to my friends and the people in my classes and at work. Valentines remind everyone of their childhood Valentine's Day parties and can make anyone's day. Another way is to get all your single friends together and enjoy each other's company. Even though the Day of Love can be about friendship, sometimes its harder to remember that when alone on the night of the 14th. Bring all of your friends together and make sure no one is lonely. You can have games and music and food, or just sit around and chat. These are two great ways to spread the love on Valentine's Day.

There are so many more people to show your love and gratitude to on Valentine's Day and everyone should take advantage. If we all reached out to the people around us, then maybe the day would not be so clouded with sad vibes. Don't hate on Valentine's Day, love it!