What I Think About Valentine's Day

Today, February 14th, is the day when people in love are suddenly pressured to tell and show their significant other how much they love them by showering them with chocolates, teddies, flowers and a romantic meal for two and whatever else have you. Retail companies have captilised on this money making phenomenon with aisles packed with teddies, chocolates, gift sets and copious amounts of flowers on sale by the bucket load. God help you if you forget.

For years, I was the object of no-one's desires. I never not received a Valentine's card through the anonymous post at school. I sent one but never got one. Sending one was mortifying enough as everyone knew that it was from me. My clever disguise of _ _ _ _ _  didn't fool anyone. Drat. 

Even for the four years that I was in a relationship, we only did Valentine's once - that was mainly because it was the week following our first date and my then-boyfriend wanted to show me that he was interested. For the remaining three Valentines that we were together, we didn't really do anything for Valentine's Day. We went to dinner about a week after Valentine's Day. We didn't go out of our way to show each other that we cared for each other because we did that all the time anyway. He would bring me chocolates just because or flowers because he missed me. It was the small things that really mattered. Not the big, over-hyped things. 

For me (and this has always been my opinion regarding Valentine's Day), Valentine's Day is the day where single people (boy or girl) can tell that one person that they have a crush on that they like them. It's the one day of the year where it's okay for them to tell that person, "I like you... would you be my Valentine?". I don't think that it's for those that are in a committed relationship. February 14th shouldn't be the day that they make their significant other feel special - that's what I believe anniversaries and birthdays are for. A lot of people that I know in relationships, don't particularly believe in it either because they feel that they show their other half that they love them and are romantic throughout the year anyway. They believe that a random date in February doesn't really change anything. It just puts pressure on them to either go big or go home - if they don't shower them with gifts or get a really big present, that it means that they don't love them. It wasn't that long ago that Christmas showered them with presents that they probably even used yet. Valentine's Day is, I believe, for the singletons out there. It might spark a relationship because it's a day where you can pluck up the courage and ask. 

Either way, that's my two cents. What are your thoughts regarding Valentine's Day?