Love and Other English Words

February 15, 2014, some people call it the after effects of Valentine's Day. Others call it Single Awareness Day. I call it Saturday. You see I am not a huge fan of those holidays. Scratch that until about a few years ago, I loved Valentine's Day and Single Awareness Day, then I realized that they were just commercialized or fad holidays that has consumed our minds. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good love story and seeing some of my friends get into relationships, get engaged or even married. All that stuff just gives me warm fuzzies and causes me to be the hopeless romantic that I am. What I don't like is how Valentine's Day is supposed to be the day to show your true love for that "special someone," which is why you need to buy them chocolates, flowers, jewelry and those candy hearts that are made of chalk. Then on February 15th, you are supposed to either acknowledge that their are single people out there in the world, or you are supposed to be proud of the fact that you are single as if it is a bad thing. I'm sorry but I have been single for 19 years and I don't need to have a holiday in order to let me know that I need to be aware of my single status. I know that I am single and sure it gets lonely at times but that is what friends and family are for. Granted, I am guilty of throwing out a few single cliches for myself and my friends ("your time will come," "you gotta love yourself before you love somebody else," etc., etc.), but when you comes down to it, I know for a true fact that I am loved even if I don't have a boyfriend. Just because you don't have that "special someone" to share all your moments with, doesn't mean you aren't truly loved by others. With Valentine's Day, I hate how people focus on the word "love." Sure it's great to love someone and to be loved by someone, but do we really need a holiday to express it. It's not like you will be bottling up your love for someone all year long and then you burst it out like confetti on February 14th. That would be ridiculous, you see people show their love for others all year round and in different ways too. On Valentine's Day, I don't focus all on the love, but I also focus on the other things in life. I mean my friends know that I love and care for them and that I have their back no matter what. But I also enjoy the company that I keep who are not my friends...yet. I am excited to see the guy who looks so jubilant while eating a cakepop or apple at my dining hall. Or talking about how the boys at your school are full of so much pulchritude that you just sit there and smile out of speechlessness (that may be a slight exaggeration, but you get my point.) Or that moment of exhilaration when you see someone else doing what they love the most. Better yet that warm-fuzzy feeling when a friend does a random act of kindness and buys 12 roses to 12 different girls. Valentine's Day or Single Awareness Day shouldn't revolve around the fact that you are single or that somebody loves you, because we are aware of that 365 days a year every year, but it should be like a Second (or First?) Thanksgiving where you appreciate the company that you have and the positive feelings that they give you.