The Virtues of Valentine's Day

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Ah, the day that almost everyone has a love-hate relationship with has finally arrived. It is the only day of the year where it is guaranteed to bring feelings out of everybody, whether positive or negative. Basically, if you are already involved in a relationship (or have a "valentine"), you love the holiday. If you aren't involved in a relationship or, even worse, are coming off of a break-up, you despise the holiday. Very few people are neutral regarding the subject, but I think I am in the minority when I saw I don't love or hate the holiday at all. Am I currently involved in relationship? No, but I don't need to be in order to have a fantastic Friday. It is also the among the few days of the year (the other being Halloween) that you can pig out on chocolates and other candies and have an excuse.

For those who love holiday, good for you! More than likely, you have a special someone to spend it with. Or, if you are like me, you are just in it for the candy. However, depending on whether you are a guy or a girl, you may actually not like Valentine's Day despite being in a relationship. If you're the girl, you love receiving gifts from your boy toy and may not even need to buy anything for him (though it would be nice, of course). If you're the guy, you have to go out and buy something for your gorgeous gal, and spending money isn't something we guys like to necessarily do. Spending on your girl is surely worth it, but picking out what she wants may be  a difficult task, especially if you haven't been dating long and you have no idea what she likes.

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Then there are those who hate Valentine's Day with a passion due to not having anyone to spend it with. Not to say that there isn't anything wrong with that, though. Remember, all of this is being written by someone who is single. However, I would be a hypocrite if I said I never used to disdain February 14th. Even last year I hated Valentine's Day, envious of all the people in relationships. Since then, I realized that there is no reason at all to be miserable on this day. Instead, those not in relationships (myself included) should be happy. Why, you ask? One word: freedom.

As previously mentioned, all the guys (and sometimes even the girls) in relationships have to go out and spend a ton of money on their significant other. Of course, it is all worth it in the end (usually), but anyone who is single should remember that they don't have to spend any money, and if they do, it's on themselves! Does it get any better than that? You are living life if you aren't in a relationship, something that is often overlooked by most people.

Is being in a relationship a bad thing? Absolutely not, but it isn't everything. Some people fail to realize the benefits of being single. I am sure I have discussed this in past posts and won't go off on a tangent here, but in short, being single means you don't have to worry about anyone except yourself. That might make you selfish depending on how you look at it, but hey, if no one wants to be with you on Valentine's Day, then it's their loss. You can definitely strive to get a girlfriend/boyfriend, but don't make it your everything. Enjoy the benefits of being free while it lasts, as I am sure you will be looking back on these single days as the best of your life once you eventually get involved with someone.

I, personally, have always worked better and have been happier when on my own, hence why I'm not bitter on Valentine's Day. Honestly, I couldn't care less. It has been otherwise a fun Friday for me, so why should I look at other people in relationship and be jealous? If they are happy together, then that makes me happy. If they aren't happy together, then I'm happy knowing that being in a relationship isn't all it's cracked up to be sometimes. Everyone looks at the holiday from a different perspective, and you can rant about it all you want, but I don't see what good it will do.

In closing, there is no need to be unhappy on Valentine's Day. Regardless of your relationship status, just be appreciative and thankful for what you have. Whether it be your significant other or your freedom, there is certainly something to like about this Friday in February. Even if you couldn't care less about the holiday, focus on the positives and strive to be better anyway. It is no different than any other day of the year for most people, so don't waste time complaining about it. Instead, make good use of your time by either finding someone to spend it with or enjoying the luxuries of life.