Valentine’s Day, Reimagined
February 14, 2023
Author: Chloe Zeldin
Editor: Samantha Rich
Roses, chocolate-covered strawberries, kiss prints, and letters. Now stop. Where did your mind go? If you thought about Valentine's Day, I would not be surprised. Did you think about romance? Couples, perhaps? People in love, exchanging thoughtful gifts and doing cheesy romantic things? Valentine’s Day has a reputation of being a day for couples to celebrate their love and indulge in sickly-sweet romantic activities.
BUT, here is a radical idea: Valentine's Day is for everyone. Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love, and the reality is that everyone has love in their lives. There is no hierarchy of love that makes different types of it more or less worthy of celebration. Whether you are single, taken, or in a complicated situation, Valentine’s Day is yours.
In high school, I was never in a relationship during Valentine’s Day, but that never stopped me from obsessing over the aesthetic of the holiday and celebrating it to the fullest. Every year, my friend Ariel and I would buy two cupcakes from Sprinkles and eat them together to celebrate the love in our friendship. We looked forward to this tradition every year and now text each other about missing it since we are at different colleges. Despite not having a romantic relationship, I still took advantage of Valentine’s Day to celebrate the love that exists in female friendships, which is just as unique and powerful.
Another annual celebratory tradition that I stuck with throughout my high school experience and my first year of college was creating Valentine’s Day candy grams for my friends. Last year, I went to Target and bought a pack of mini boxes of conversation hearts, wrote little notes on each one, and distributed them to all my friends. I wanted them to know that I adore them and cherish the love they give to me every single day.
My point? There are countless ways to celebrate the love in your life on Valentine’s Day, regardless of your relationship status. So, if ideas have not started coming to you while reading this article, here are some more ways you can celebrate Valentine’s Day, no matter what is going on in your life: bake a chocolate dessert and give it to someone you love, write yourself a love letter, watch a stupid rom-com, plan a Valentine’s Day picnic with your best friends with all of the Valentine’s Day clichés, show some love to yourself with a self-care day, plan a date with your best friend, buy yourself flowers, call your family and tell them you love them — the possibilities are quite literally endless.
Love is everywhere; everyone is equally entitled to love, the celebration of it, and the beautiful places it manifests itself. Do yourself a favor and give yourself the Valentine’s Day you deserve. If you love Valentine’s Day, it will love you back.
Happy Valentine’s Day ❤︎
Image: Julia Bonnano
