Valentine's Day is Stupid

by: Keara Moon

The Valentine’s Day critics have a point. We all know love should be shown, celebrated, and appreciated everyday instead of one day out of the year. As we get older, the weight of societal pressure turns an innocent holiday, where you can ask your crush to be your Valentine with a marker and sheet of construction paper, into a total commercial competition where love is signified by levels of extravagance rather than emotional intimacy and commitment. 

That being said, Valentine’s Day is not going anywhere. The commercials, the red and pink aisles flooding every store. Everyone knows it’s Valentine’s Day, including your date. Whether we want to admit it or not, every girl wants to feel special on February 14th. Are we going to feel unloved if he doesn't bring us to the fanciest hotel or buy us a new designer item for Valentine’s Day? Of course not. There’s an unspoken rule that bonds women everywhere: we don’t really care about the item, we care about the effort. We want to know our date took the initiative to do something a little extra for us in exchange for nothing but a smile. 

There is a natural tug-of-war that can occur within women during Valentine’s Day. Because the majority of us know and accept that it is a fun, silly holiday, we don’t want to make a big deal or complain if we are disappointed in our significant other’s nonchalance. However, if you have a date on Valentine’s Day, and he does absolutely nothing to make you feel special, that is him waving the red flag right in front of you. It goes deeper than the action (or lack thereof), it is the thought (or lack thereof) behind it. Everyone and their mother knows it is Valentine’s Day, your date can pick you up some flowers.