My Anti-Valentine: Revisited

Well the time has come once again. Our beloved Valentine’s Day is upon us. As you all know, I am not a fan of this so called “holiday”. In fact, I’m insulted by the mere fact that it is even considered a holiday. I get every other holiday. Christmas and Easter are religious, New Year’s celebrates a fresh start, 4th of July is for Independence Day…. I mean, they all make sense. It’s not like February really needs a holiday. We have Christmas, then New Year’s, and St. Patrick’s Day in March.

Valentine’s Day is just another economic holiday to get people to spend more money. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the 3 months after Christmas people are not spending very much money. The sales go down, employees get hours cut, and the cheeriness of Christmas wears off. I get it, but the media is out of control.

 If you’re in a relationship, you automatically feel an overwhelming pressure to get your partner something AMAZING! Guys are told to buy her jewelry, even though he may have gotten her some already for Christmas. He is expected to take her out for a fancy dinner and spoil her. And after all of his good behavior, he expects something in return. But what do girls get guys for Valentine’s Day? The media doesn’t show much about that. You know why; because the woman is considered the gift. In today’s society, a woman is expected to repay men for their good behavior through intimacy. It doesn’t necessarily have to be sexual. The pressure society puts on men and women is ridiculous and Valentine’s Day just extends this.

 Every time I walk into Walmart, Dollar Store, Schnucks….wherever, my fight or flight response kicks in. I must fight the urge to vomit, or get out. Seriously, have you seen the amount of pink and red that is floating around the isles? It looks like someone’s intestines exploded!! 
Yeah yeah yeah, Valentine’s Day is supposed to make people feel special and loved, but what about the people who are single? Do they feel loved? Nothing says romantic like a generic card from hallmark that 800 other women received from their boyfriends. You go to a restaurant crowded with couples all celebrating the same thing. Everyone looks pathetically romantic…because you’re supposed to! What about taking your girlfriend out on a random Thursday in March? Wouldn’t that be more romantic?

What if you really don’t love someone, you just haven’t figured out where the relationship is going yet? Now you have to buy them a gift and pretend like you do? I can say for certain, if I were dating someone, my gift to him would be a post-it note that says “You have the day off, I’ll call you tomorrow” and that would be the end. No gifts, no awkward dinner, no pressure. Just a post-it to basically say go away and we’ll pretend like it's any other day. Now doesn’t that sound romantic? I know I’d be much happier than agonizing over what he’s going to get me or not get me and what my reaction should be…

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