Why Valentine’s Day is Abysmal
(and why that’s a bit of an exaggeration)
ME AND MY UNBROKEN HEART – Valentine’s Day approaches and I have no Valentine. This year I’m okay with that. This year I’ll put aside the bitterness and enjoy being me.
February 14, 2021
Being single this year means there is something to look forward to next year. Being single next year means there’s the year after that. If the situation doesn’t change by then, then I have nothing much to say besides “SAME!”
Oh, Valentine’s Day, my favorite holiday—the one day of the year when I feel like a loser. Before I go any further, I just want to clarify that these are merely my thoughts. I am not giving any advice, nor am I trying to persuade anyone into anything. I am simply stating how I feel without trying to not make it sound despairing.
As Valentine’s Day approaches, this will be the 17th year in a row where I spend it alone. Alright, the first couple of years don’t count, but it wouldn’t feel as effective if I said this is the 7th year in a row I spend the holiday alone.
Valentine’s Day is just another day, and its meaning is up to the beholder. But that’s not what this story is about, so I’ll stop the miniature rant and get back to my point. If the day means nothing then that’s fine. But at times ignoring it can be a little hard. Let me guess, feel like a loser? I get that. I’ve been there too.
That feeling of “am I just not good enough” or “what am I doing wrong” does suck. I’ve spent most of my life with that mindset, and it’s always infuriating when one can’t find the answer.
I began running because of a girl.
That was an exciting period. I still didn’t get a valentine. But it was the first time I felt like, “wow is this what love is?” Okay, I’m kidding, but it was a good time. I learned a lot from it, but it also left me with a lot of confusion.
“You’re single because you don’t talk to girls. You go run instead of talking to girls,” Steven Hernandez, a senior and the News Editor for the Times, said. Well, that backfired… It’s very baffling. Why can’t I just read about it in a book?
The melancholy comes and goes. It’s not like I see a couple and think, “damn this sucks.” Maybe in the past but not now. I used to think that being perfect would have solved all those problems, but that’s a flawed statement for two reasons.
One, being perfect is impossible. It’s a cliché thing to say, but it’s not wrong. And two, perfect to one person is not perfect to another. Sometimes one can’t be what a person is looking for. “So you’re saying no one likes you,” Brandon Garcia, a senior, said. Well, I wasn’t going to directly say that Brandon but thanks.
Sometimes it’s not what isn’t seen, it’s what isn’t known. It’s not what I didn’t feel, it’s what I didn’t show. Yeah, I stole those song lyrics but they make sense to me so I’ll keep them there.
I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining because I’m not. I’m not looking for pity. I just wanted to write something a little more lighthearted because as much as people love being informed, I’m sure they’re a bit tired of reading the same headline over and over again. The point is that if anyone has those feelings, it’s okay, and the feeling is mutual.
At the end of the day, Valentine’s Day is what a person makes it out to be. It can be spent showing love to those who care or dwelling on what could have been. No matter when this is read or who is reading this, they should enjoy being themselves regardless of validation. Happy Valentine’s Day.
