Valentine’s Day is a day not just for others, but for yourself

MADDEN’S MADNESS

It was easier when we were in elementary school. We would decorate our paper bags and watch as our classmates filled them with store-bought valentines. These were the days we all had a valentine. We never spent Valentine’s Day alone

I don’t believe we should display our love for others solely on this day. If we truly love each other we show it 365 days a year.

Valentine’s Day is expected to generate almost $26 billion dollars in 2023, according to the

National Retail Federation. It’s a business. The day has used commercialization to its advantage to emphasize the romantic form of love.

We shouldn’t beat ourselves up for not having a valentine. It’s the day of love, after all.

Love is like an open flame, except this flame never runs out. It lights the world around you on fire. Love brings light to the darkness. Hope to the hopeless. It’s so powerful you can’t help your craving for it. We all crave to be loved and to feel the love we give.

Love is scary. Love can hurt. Love can rejuvenate. Love makes the impossible possible. Just because you don’t have a valentine doesn’t mean you are unloved.

We all experience love in many different forms.

A mother loves her child in a way many will never understand.

A sister loves her brother, and a brother loves his sister, but the two may never fully comprehend the love shared. Many love to watch the flowers bloom and the sun rise and set, but these forms of love will never be reciprocated back.

We love to watch our friends excel at things that they do best. We love that feeling we get after doing well on a test. We love sharing old memories we have, and we all wish they were a place we could go back to. And, while there are many forms of love around us, we push aside the most important portrayal of this act.

Do you love yourself? I hope that you do. If not, I dream that one day you will love yourself in the way you love others and the world around you.

You deserve to be loved by others, but more importantly, you deserve to be loved by yourself.

Don’t believe the lie that you are unloved without a valentine. You’re not alone on this day or any other day.

Listen to the words of Miley Cyrus. You can buy yourself flowers. Write your name in the sand. Talk to yourself for hours. You can take yourself dancing. You can hold your own hand. You can love yourself better than anyone else can.

This Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be a reminder that you are not in a relationship. Spend the day treating yourself the way you desire to be treated.

Go on a long drive. Watch the sunset. Eat your favorite meal and snacks. Watch your favorite movie. Accomplish things on your overdue to-do list. Have a dance party. Spend time with wholesome friends. Embrace this day of love and its many different forms. Enjoy this beautiful existence that we all get to share together.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Lauren Madden is a 21-year-old mass communication major from Mandeville.