Loving Love Gets You Nowhere
Without fail, there are always two extremes of Valentine's Day stereotypes. There are the girls who obsess over the day, convinced that they are more in love on February 14th than any other day of the year. They are constantly judgmental of every grand gesture (or lack thereof) that their significant other makes. Then, there are those who are hell-bent on spending the day as a scorned lover, eating all the chocolate in sight, and criticizing any flowers that are Instagrammed between the hours of 7-10 pm. Yet, I've recently become aware of a strange third category that seems to appear around Valentine's Day: the girls who are obsessed with "loving love". Rather than being scorned over their lack of a date, these are the girls who live vicariously through others' experiences. These are the girls who are longing for a love story of their own, but, in its absence, are content to watch on the sidelines of somebody else's. This, in my opinion, is one of the lows of social media in our society. Sites like Pinterest have created an escape for young girls to watch somebody else's life happen while making excuses for hiding from having one of their own.
I'll let you in on a little secret. I've had love-filled Valentine's Days, and I've had single ones. I've been brought flowers and chocolate, and I've seen movies with my girlfriends. One day of the year doesn't dictate the quality or the quantity of love in your life, but the stance you take on the happiness of those around you speaks volumes. So, do yourself a favor on February 14th and every day after, and don't be the girl who is content to "love love" without experiencing anything for herself. You can't live a full life if you're always wishing for your story to be written by someone else.
Don't love love, show love. Experience love by obsessing over your own happinesses and twists in the story instead of wishing that you could fast forward to a new stage of life. February 14th is a normal day when a lot of people happen to have nice dates and a lot more tend to binge-eat on chocolate. Don't give into the propaganda, and don't spend it behind your computer screen. Just like every other day of the year, February 14th is a time to write your own story, so don't waste the opportunity.