February 14th. If you didn’t know, that’s Valentine’s Day, and it is coming up on Monday.

Everyone has their own opinion on Valentine’s Day, but personally I love it. 

This isn’t the case for everyone though. My parents for example, have been happily married for 24 years and they haven’t once celebrated Valentine’s Day. They think it’s a ploy to take advantage of couples and make lots of money. This thought process makes sense given the fact that my mom is a marketing major, but to an extent I agree with them.

But being a Gen Z child and realizing how hard it is to find good friends and good partners, I feel like Valentine’s Day also has some meaning to it. I’m not in a relationship with anyone, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to celebrate. My friends and I are going to the XOXO Dining Room and exchanging gifts with each other just to celebrate with one another. 

It’s hard to meet genuine people nowadays and I think when you do, you shouldn’t take them for granted. I don’t think that you can only celebrate Valentine’s Day if you have a significant other, I think you can celebrate it if you believe in love. I’m not trying to sound cringey, but even if you don’t have friends that you’re super close with, having a self love day could be fun too.

At the end of the day, you only have yourself to take care of you. So friendships, relationships, ect, are all in your hands. Make sure you’re surrounding yourself with people who truly care about you this Valentine’s Day, even if it’s only yourself!