Valentine’s Day is filled with flowers, chocolates, dinner reservations and cupids shooting arrows. An arrow seems like a pretty dangerous way to show affection but I digress. To me, I feel like today is all about managing expectations. There are so many societal expectations of what’s needed for a successful day and if we’re not careful, the day sort of dictates what the expectations should be.

One key aspect of the day is the difference between being alone and being lonely. Being “alone” is a physical state where you’re physically by yourself. Being “lonely” is an emotional state where you’re feeling disconnected from others, even when they're right next to you. So if today is a day when you’re physically alone but you still feel connected with yourself and/or the people that are in your life, you’ve got it made.

There’s also an idea that today is reserved for romantic love. I beg to differ! The ancient Greeks gave love 8 different classifications. No romance today? Reach out to some of your other single friends and plan a movie night where y’all watch silly ROMCOM’s. No single friends close by? Sounds like a perfect opportunity to engage in your favorite methods of self-care, whether it be hanging out with your favorite pet or finally beating the main boss in that game you got last year who you haven’t been able to beat no matter how many YouTube tutorials you’ve watched…Oops that last one got a little personal for me there. Either way, you do have a choice in how you’d like to spend your energy so make it something meaningful to you.

However you plan to spend your Valentine’s Day, I hope that you enjoy yourself and stay safe. Take care and thanks for reading!