Don't Feel The Pressure of Valentine's Day - Here's Why

Yes, it's Valentine's Day, February 14th. It's the most beloved day of the year for every pair of sweethearts out in the world. Whether you're involved in a monogamous relationship, dating around, or living the single life, it's hard to avoid the fact that every store, every restaurant is dressed in red or pink.

IT'S A TWISTED REDUNDANCY.

Generally speaking, Valentine's Day is a holiday geared towards women. Men shop for women. Women even shop for their female friends. If we wanna get specific, it's still a pretty straight oriented industry as well. The worst part is that Valentine's Day has placed such heavy pressure on us, some women have been forced into creating sub-genres of the holiday when they don't have that special someone. Trends like "Friendship Day" instead, or wearing purple in protest of the red and pink have become so prevalent, it just exposes how much pressure women feel to be appreciated/loved/noticed on Valentine's Day.

But do we even know what we're celebrating? The actual holiday has some dark history. Emperor Claudius II executed two men named Valentine in different years, and the church martyred them. There's no real romance in that story, yet somehow our commercial world has managed to take advantage of all of us as consumers (men included).

Now this isn't to say that you shouldn't celebrate Valentine's Day. This is by no means a protest to the holiday. However, there's an idea that isn't so crazy: that this shouldn't be as big a deal as people make it. The idea that someone should be loved more than every other day of the year is a concept that should be left behind. The idea that gifts should be bestowed on one day of the year is unnecessary.

If your friends are in a relationship, help them celebrate! If you're single, take the time to appreciate yourself. Loving yourself is NEVER overrated.

Love yourself, love your friends, and love your special someone (whoever they may be) EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR. There's no pressure this February 14.