I already know that I'm going to catch a lot of flack for this post. Most of you will say it's because I'm single, and thus I must be bitter. Nope. That's not it at all. I've never really liked Valentine's Day. I think it's dumb... pointless... waste of money... the product of commercialization.
People act all crazy when Valentine's Day approaches - they start making dinner reservations, shop for gifts, pay an exorbitant amount of money on roses, buy chocolates, etc. All for one freaking day! Why do couples only do these things on Valentine's Day? Because we are told that is when we SHOULD do it. But shouldn't couples be doing these things whenever they feel like it and not when a date on a calendar tells them to?
Consider this - every Valentine's Day you get red roses delivered to work, with an attached card that says "Happy Valentine's Day! Love, Joe." Then you get home and maybe there is a present waiting for you. Then you change, get dressed up, and go out to a nice restaurant, where you are surrounded by tons of other couples who have probably spent the day experiencing the same exact things as you.
But now consider this - it's a random day (not Valentine's Day, not your birthday or anniversary, not a special day at all); you are sitting at work and all of a sudden this beautiful bouquet is brought into your office. The note on the card says "Hey babe, I was sitting here at work and couldn't stop thinking about you. Can't wait to see you at home later tonight. I love you! Joe." Wouldn't you much rather prefer this kind of delivery compared to the generic Valentine's delivery? Wouldn't this put a huge smile on your face? But you know why guys don't do this? Because they are trained to only do this on special occasions. If they do it any other time, then the girl gets all suspicious that they must have done something wrong. So guys become robots and automatically do this on February 14th. How boring... yawn.
What about if you get home from work and are surprised that your significant other is dressed up to go out to a nice dinner. You are so taken aback - this never happens! You get to the restaurant, and the two of you are in your own little world. Compare this to when you go out on Valentine's and are surrounded by all the other obligatory dinner dates.
And don't even get me started on roses! I HATE roses! I never ever EVER want to be given roses. Hate hate hate them. They are overrated. (Edit - I hate red roses. Burnt orange roses, absolutely! Yellow roses, sure! Red roses, NO!) I got into an argument with a guy in high school about them. He was telling a bunch of girls in class what he was getting his girlfriend for V-Day. The usual - chocolates, teddy bear, red roses. All the girls were like "aww, that's so sweet." I spoke up and said that he should find out from the girl's mom or best friend what her favorite flower was and get that instead. All the girls in class told me I was an idiot. Maybe. But roses are just another flower that everyone else will be getting. Again - how boring... yawn. In fact - why even get flowers? They die after a few days. Why spend all that money on something that is going to die? Why not give the person a potted plant instead... at least then it will make a lasting memory than flowers that will be in the trash days later - unless you're me, and then potted plants have a way of dying long before they should. Or send something edible, like cookies or cupcakes. At least those won't go to waste!
It's not just V-Day that I hate. I hate all holidays. I'm not a cold person, I swear! I just think that the commercialization of every holiday has gotten out of control and has taken away the true meaning.
Take Christmas - you spend weeks/days/hours leading up to Christmas scrambling around to find something to give to your loved ones. You spend way too much money and get one too many headaches dealing with the other bazillion people doing the same thing. What's the point of exchanging gifts? Why not just buy those gifts throughout the year and give them to your loved ones just because. Let's say you see a shirt that your brother might like - why buy it a month before Christmas and then wait to give it to him? Why not buy it and then give it to him that day with a note that says "hey bro, I saw this and thought you might like it." I would much rather prefer to give gifts throughout the year, not just on one day. The one thing I like about Christmas is that it is usually the only time where everyone in the family has off. I have been trying to get my mom to do away with gifts altogether and instead we all take a trip somewhere during the Christmas holidays. Holidays are about spending time with family, not gifts. So cut out the gifts and spend time together!
And Thanksgiving - my favorite holiday because all you do is get together with family and eat. But why is it that we only have that meal one time a year? I love me some dressing and gravy. Why don't we make that other times during the year? I never see people eat cranberry sauce unless it's Turkey Day (or Christmas). And tamales - what if I want tamales in March? Why can't families come together other times during the year and eat a nice meal?
Random acts of love are the ones that remain. Take this example - at work we have something called Alumni College where alumni can come back to campus for a day or two and attend "classes." One of the classes at this past AC was taught by Professor Daly - the same professor who teaches Interpersonal Communication. He asked the crowd who had been married for at least 30 years. One lady smugly raised her hand - that smug went away soon after! Professor Daly asked her what her husband gave her for their anniversary this last year. She replied. What about the year before? Again, she replied. How about 5 years ago? No clue. What about 10 years ago? Again, no clue. Then he said to her "tell me about a thoughtful, unexpected gesture your husband has done for you." The lady went on and on about this time her husband did something for her - she remembered the day, what she was wearing, how she felt, etc. It was the unexpected gesture that remains in her mind. So keep that in your mind - unexpected over expected.
I hope that I haven't offended anyone. These are just my thoughts. Some of you may love celebrating V-Day and by all means, celebrate! At least you celebrate it because you enjoy it and not because you feel obligated to. Maybe your favorite flower happens to be a rose - yay for you... they just aren't my cup of tea. Maybe these are the ramblings of a harsh, cold and bitter person - I don't think so, but maybe you think so. Your opinion of me... this is my opinion of V-Day.
People act all crazy when Valentine's Day approaches - they start making dinner reservations, shop for gifts, pay an exorbitant amount of money on roses, buy chocolates, etc. All for one freaking day! Why do couples only do these things on Valentine's Day? Because we are told that is when we SHOULD do it. But shouldn't couples be doing these things whenever they feel like it and not when a date on a calendar tells them to?
Consider this - every Valentine's Day you get red roses delivered to work, with an attached card that says "Happy Valentine's Day! Love, Joe." Then you get home and maybe there is a present waiting for you. Then you change, get dressed up, and go out to a nice restaurant, where you are surrounded by tons of other couples who have probably spent the day experiencing the same exact things as you.
But now consider this - it's a random day (not Valentine's Day, not your birthday or anniversary, not a special day at all); you are sitting at work and all of a sudden this beautiful bouquet is brought into your office. The note on the card says "Hey babe, I was sitting here at work and couldn't stop thinking about you. Can't wait to see you at home later tonight. I love you! Joe." Wouldn't you much rather prefer this kind of delivery compared to the generic Valentine's delivery? Wouldn't this put a huge smile on your face? But you know why guys don't do this? Because they are trained to only do this on special occasions. If they do it any other time, then the girl gets all suspicious that they must have done something wrong. So guys become robots and automatically do this on February 14th. How boring... yawn.
What about if you get home from work and are surprised that your significant other is dressed up to go out to a nice dinner. You are so taken aback - this never happens! You get to the restaurant, and the two of you are in your own little world. Compare this to when you go out on Valentine's and are surrounded by all the other obligatory dinner dates.
And don't even get me started on roses! I HATE roses! I never ever EVER want to be given roses. Hate hate hate them. They are overrated. (Edit - I hate red roses. Burnt orange roses, absolutely! Yellow roses, sure! Red roses, NO!) I got into an argument with a guy in high school about them. He was telling a bunch of girls in class what he was getting his girlfriend for V-Day. The usual - chocolates, teddy bear, red roses. All the girls were like "aww, that's so sweet." I spoke up and said that he should find out from the girl's mom or best friend what her favorite flower was and get that instead. All the girls in class told me I was an idiot. Maybe. But roses are just another flower that everyone else will be getting. Again - how boring... yawn. In fact - why even get flowers? They die after a few days. Why spend all that money on something that is going to die? Why not give the person a potted plant instead... at least then it will make a lasting memory than flowers that will be in the trash days later - unless you're me, and then potted plants have a way of dying long before they should. Or send something edible, like cookies or cupcakes. At least those won't go to waste!
It's not just V-Day that I hate. I hate all holidays. I'm not a cold person, I swear! I just think that the commercialization of every holiday has gotten out of control and has taken away the true meaning.
Take Christmas - you spend weeks/days/hours leading up to Christmas scrambling around to find something to give to your loved ones. You spend way too much money and get one too many headaches dealing with the other bazillion people doing the same thing. What's the point of exchanging gifts? Why not just buy those gifts throughout the year and give them to your loved ones just because. Let's say you see a shirt that your brother might like - why buy it a month before Christmas and then wait to give it to him? Why not buy it and then give it to him that day with a note that says "hey bro, I saw this and thought you might like it." I would much rather prefer to give gifts throughout the year, not just on one day. The one thing I like about Christmas is that it is usually the only time where everyone in the family has off. I have been trying to get my mom to do away with gifts altogether and instead we all take a trip somewhere during the Christmas holidays. Holidays are about spending time with family, not gifts. So cut out the gifts and spend time together!
And Thanksgiving - my favorite holiday because all you do is get together with family and eat. But why is it that we only have that meal one time a year? I love me some dressing and gravy. Why don't we make that other times during the year? I never see people eat cranberry sauce unless it's Turkey Day (or Christmas). And tamales - what if I want tamales in March? Why can't families come together other times during the year and eat a nice meal?
Random acts of love are the ones that remain. Take this example - at work we have something called Alumni College where alumni can come back to campus for a day or two and attend "classes." One of the classes at this past AC was taught by Professor Daly - the same professor who teaches Interpersonal Communication. He asked the crowd who had been married for at least 30 years. One lady smugly raised her hand - that smug went away soon after! Professor Daly asked her what her husband gave her for their anniversary this last year. She replied. What about the year before? Again, she replied. How about 5 years ago? No clue. What about 10 years ago? Again, no clue. Then he said to her "tell me about a thoughtful, unexpected gesture your husband has done for you." The lady went on and on about this time her husband did something for her - she remembered the day, what she was wearing, how she felt, etc. It was the unexpected gesture that remains in her mind. So keep that in your mind - unexpected over expected.
I hope that I haven't offended anyone. These are just my thoughts. Some of you may love celebrating V-Day and by all means, celebrate! At least you celebrate it because you enjoy it and not because you feel obligated to. Maybe your favorite flower happens to be a rose - yay for you... they just aren't my cup of tea. Maybe these are the ramblings of a harsh, cold and bitter person - I don't think so, but maybe you think so. Your opinion of me... this is my opinion of V-Day.
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