Love. It seems stupid to have an entire day dedicated to it, but here we are. There are pressures all around us to be cute and romantic. And if we don’t face those pressures because of a lack of someone special, the idea of being sad and lonely on Valentine’s Day surrounds us. Being sweet and romantic to the person you love shouldn’t be so hyped up on this one particular day. Why not be kind and loving every day instead of expecting so much on this one day?

Valentine’s Day has been in existence since the Romans, but it hasn’t always been about being sappy and lovey-dovey. It wasn’t until the Middle Ages that the holiday was associated with love and even then it wasn’t the commercial mess it is today. In my opinion, the entire holiday was an excuse for the greeting card companies, florists and chocolate companies to make an extra buck off of people desperate to be a good partner. Sure it’s nice to receive a card expressing feelings of love, but it is unnecessary to do so under the guise of a holiday driven by money and spending to show that love.

The holiday has become so big that clothes are designed for this one day, stores decorate based on it and candy companies change their packaging just for the 14th. The expectations are so high that when I searched the term “Valentine’s Day,” the top results were articles saying how to make Valentine’s Day less stressful. I can’t imagine how much people are spending on this holiday, all I can say is that it’s probably too much and that profits are being made off of corporate exploitation of your heart.

For me, Valentine’s Day represents good intentions, but doesn’t have any importance to me and my life. I feel like it is an important holiday to some people who value showing their love in the ways that the holiday promotes and all the power to those people. No matter how you are celebrating the day, I want people to remember the importance of celebrating relationships whether they are romantic or not. However, I also want them to remember you don’t need a special day just to express those feelings.