Cherie Ann O. Gozon
The perfect (and clichéd) Valentine’s Day excuse
THIS is not being bitter or anything that sounds like it. This is just what I have observed in single ladies’ culture during the much-awaited Valentine’s Day.
When the question “Mag-unsa ka inig Valentine’s?” pops up, those who are single would have a general excuse. They would say in a very a-bit-embarrassed manner that they have a date – with their friends, family, or themselves. Pity, pity… but funny. Why do they always answer that way?
People have in their minds that Valentine’s Day is a day for lovers. Look that up in Wikipedia and it would tell you the same thing. I object on this mentality, though. I have been single all my life and I never found February 14 as a date that I could be bitter about. If I were to recall my previous Valentine’s Days, they were fun even
without a partner.
Most of them were spent with my family since it’s my sister’s birthday (Happy Birthday Bang!). There’ll always be a family gathering by dinner making Valentine’s not that lonely after all. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about spending the day with the family. Our family, after all, is the first set of people who loved us truly and ceaselessly – even with our faults and mistakes. They are the other part of us that we can never deny.
The other half of my February 14s were spent with friends, and even on serious school stuff. I remember just stopping by a fast-food chain with friends licking sundae cones and laughing out loud. We, too, give gifts, flowers, and those heart-shaped notes written in red paper. It still feels like having a lover – even more than that. Because friends are like lovers, it’s just that you know they stay and would never leave.
But the best date of all is a date with oneself. Give time for that person you never spent much time with, that person whom you always forgot to love, and that person who thinks of everybody else except for himself. Look in the mirror and reward the person you see with the utmost love that you can give. That’s you.
So no need to feel all sullen and bitter on February 14. It’s just another day made special for you to know and spend time with people you love and who loves you. May it be your partner, your family, your friends… or yourself.
Happy Valentine’s Day Single Ladies!