Appreciate Love Every Day, Not Just on Valentine’s Day

Happy Valentine’s Day!

There are generally two types of people when it comes to Valentine’s Day: the ones who adore Valentine’s Day and the ones who think it’s an overly commercialized holiday. I’m somewhere in the middle. I don’t hate Valentine’s Day, but it’s a certainly not one of my favorite holidays.

When I was in elementary school, Valentine’s Day was filled with fun. We did a math sheet (maybe?) and then spent the day eating candy and playing games. It was a low-stress day all around. 

But now…

it comes with weird expectations and forced interactions that can be later posted about on Instagram. But, like most holidays, it comes from religious origins; the patron Saint Valentine. Over time, it morphed into flowers, candy, plush animals, cards and heart-shaped anythings. The ironic part of Valentine’s Day is that it always turns into a last minute holiday. It goes from being an overly- romanticized holiday of love to a chore.

At its core, I believe the meaning behind Valentine’s Day is endearing; to tell the ones you love how you feel.

When we think of Valentine’s Day, we associate it with romantic relationships because that’s how it’s advertised to us. In elementary school, it was innocent, showing appreciation for our classmates even if we weren’t in the same group of friends, and our teacher made sure we included everyone. The simple act of showing appreciation to someone has become antiquated art form.

We only take stock of what we have, when we need to not only reflect on what we have, but be grateful.

Usually, it’s because we’re staring down the barrel of something awful or challenging. It’s easy to forget how much the little, day-to-day things mean to us. It’s like when you see those bi-annual relatives who tell you how much taller you’ve gotten, but you don’t realize it because you see yourself in the mirror everyday.

The same can be said for showing appreciation. This Valentine’s Day, be appreciative of the friends and family around you. Tell them in words. It doesn’t have to be a grand gesture, but enough so that your friends or family know that you appreciate them. It may seem small and unimportant, but those acts of kindness resonate deeper than we realize. Valentine’s Day is a day dedicated to love, but more importantly it should be a day dedicated to appreciating the friends and family around you.

Photo by Laura Ockel on Unsplash

Lexi Kakis

I live in New York, representing the East coast portion of Words Between Coasts.

www.wordsbetweencoasts.com