Valentine’s Day is a holiday known and celebrated worldwide, and while the emphasis of love is big in our culture, just how overrated is the day of love? With big bouquets of flowers, heart shaped boxes of chocolates, cheesy love poems, and expensive gifts, Valentine’s Day is heavily commercialized. While love is pivotal, the way our society prioritizes romantic relationships may be a bit excessive, Valentine’s Day being an example. In essence, Valentine’s Day is sweet and thoughtful, until people feel pressured to participate in it,  maybe your other half doesn’t care for it as much as you do. It can feel frustrating for those who are in relationships, and even for those who aren’t, as they may feel desperate to participate in the acts of love. All these conflicting feelings lead me to believe that many people value romantic relationships and view it as the only love that really matters, but I would beg to differ. 

Now, I’m not downplaying the importance of romantic love, as it most definitely holds weight, but I believe people view it wrong. The talk of love is not unfamiliar to our past generations, but especially now, is it the loudest conversation to exist. With dating and social media surrounding relationships being so accessible, it is not odd to be a hopeless romantic, but the constant emphasis of romance is draining. 

Love is so much more than romance, it extends through us and to the people around us. I believe self-love and platonic love offers way more than society may think it does. 

Especially now, in a world filled with loneliness and hardship, we need each other more than ever. We must recognize the love we have within and for ourselves, for our friends and family, and lastly, and most importantly, the romantic love we may have for others.