Rethinking Valentine’s Day — From Someone Who Hates It
Love requires constant, daily practice
I remember as a kid how much I loved giving and receiving those cheap, paper Valentines. Even though parents forced their kids to give one to every kid, there was still something magical about peering into that brown paper bag and seeing so many cards from so many kids. It made me feel special.
In middle school, things started to shift, as they tend to do. The forced paper Valentines turned into pressure to give whoever I was “going with” at the time a gift of my love. It was always cologne. To this day, I am still haunted by the smell of Joop and CK One.
In high school, the gifts — and pressure — started to amp up. Suddenly we were buying jewelry and clothes. It was all so awkward…especially if you didn’t have a valentine.
So by the time I got to college and was starting to buck traditional norms, I decided to opt-out of Valentine’s Day and all of its shenanigans. (Although I still happily purchased half-price chocolates from my local drugstore the next day.)
A love story
Ironically, college is where I met my husband, although it’s worth noting that our relationship almost got thwarted by a misunderstanding about…you guessed it…Valentine’s Day.
