I’ve always liked the idea of love. Even when I was a little girl, seeing people in love is something I’ve always cherished. Because of that, Valentine’s Day is like a sporting event I watch every year. I’ll sit on the sidelines with discounted chocolate while all of my friends fall in love and wonder about my own relationships.
I’ll be honest and say that always being the single friend is weird. As a spectator, I constantly feel like a third wheel where everyone else is riding a tandem bicycle. You’d think I’d be bitter about the situation but I’m not—quite the opposite actually.
I think that love is a wonderfully fluid thing. We fall a little bit in love with strangers every day. Isn’t the idea of serendipity a beautiful thing? Like an adrenaline shot to the heart, we meet people that add unforgettable excitement to our lives. I think intimacy is something we all crave as we figure out how we fit into the mold.
Getting a crush on someone is like playing emotional whack-a-mole. Love is alive with possibility and in that limbo we wait to experience the spark that romance is known for. It’s not easy being the single friend all the time. Seeing others around you going on fun dates, celebrating anniversaries, getting a pet together or even getting engaged can wear on you.
The dating world is rough and it isn’t as easy to navigate as Hallmark films portray. That doesn’t mean that love is dead–it just means that we have to be patient and kind to ourselves throughout the process. Being single and in love with love is an interesting predicament to be in. Who knows, maybe that match on Tinder or person you sit next to in lecture will change your life.
Valentine’s Day is a wonderful time to celebrate love in all of its forms. Yes, the day is an excuse to indulge in sugary affection but that isn’t always a bad thing. American culture likes to run us into the ground with work and responsibilities, so take the night off and go on a date to celebrate life. Love is a foreign concept at times but we’re all trying to learn the language.
If you don’t have a romantic rendezvous scheduled, make a date with a bottle of wine and relax. Fall in love with the possibility of relationships and change.
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