hey tribe! happy valentine’s day!

we all know that this day is celebrated as a symbol of love for anyone and everyone but social media and advertising, in general, has made this day more about celebrating relationships than celebrating love. this brings its own share of problems and for many people, the day is ridden with anxiety and stress.

is it okay to not be completely into the idea of the commercialized valentine’s day? yes. yes. thousand times yes.

there’s absolutely nothing wrong with not wanting to celebrate the day as it is portrayed in films and social media. and there’s nothing wrong if you do want to do something extra special. the important part is not to have set expectations. not to create an idea that this is the ideal perfect v-day celebration. that creates divisions in society puts pressure on yourself and your partners; makes single people feel less satisfied even if absolutely nothing is wrong with being single.

why does anyone have to feel any less because we decided to mark a day to celebrate love? we have to see the paradox of this situation and move on from donning the red outfits and giving each other roses if it’s causing you to feel more stressed than loved.

here are some very solid reasons for wanting to go the other way: 

it’s too performative

hey, there is no magic key that makes everything rosy on v-day and a couple can choose to not play into the whole performance on this day. because some people don’t feel the need to profess their love on a specific day because they do it every day.

why plan everything? 

we all know that planning a “perfect” valentines day takes a lot of planning. the music. the food. the gift. the surprise. the crescendo. the climax. but sometimes we are just tired and if the pandemic has taught has something it is to not be married to your plans. so’ maybe sometimes it’s better to be spontaneous? right?

it's too stressful

well, this one is as simple as it can get. it is too damn stressful and expressing your undying love shouldn’t give you a panic attack. we just need to tell you that taking it easy and chilling on your sofa with a beverage and pizza is also an option.

there could be many other reasons or circumstances because of which you might not be able to have what you think is the perfect Valentine’s Day. but the truth is there is no such thing as a perfect day.

you know what we always say. there is nothing more important than your happiness and mental health.

so, stay healthy. be happy. love yourself and live aastey.