Before I start this, I want to clarify: I’m a romantic to a fault. 
“The Notebook” is one of my favorite films about undying love. I’m the cheesy person who believes in commitment and soul mates no matter how many frogs you have to kiss before you meet your prince. 
However, the one day of the year that is supposed to be for love, Valentine’s Day, is the most irrelevant holiday out there. 
The history of Valentine’s Day is a little fuzzy, but the consensus is the holiday started as a religious one. Catholics recognize three different saints with the names Valentine or Valentinus. All were martyred for trying to make things right in the sense of love, either by granting secret marriages or helping Christians escape Roman prisons.
In the terms of the holiday, history says it was celebrated in February to remember Saint Valentine’s death. Other theories say the Christian church created the day to create a heavier presence of the pagan holiday of Lupercalia. Lupercalia was a festival for Faunus, the god of agriculture for Romans, along with celebrating the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. 
Basically, Valentine’s Day was supposed to be a celebration of love and feasting — as a community. Groups of people would celebrate with each other from a religious standpoint. Today, it’s become a commercialized excuse to buy frilly pink gifts or cry about how lonely you are on Twitter. 
Stores are packed with giant bears, pink candy and heart jewelry forcing boyfriends or girlfriends to feel the heat to buy their significant others something shiny with a bow on top. Even better, there’s a need to create this elaborate date night plan with a candlelight dinner and a kiss in the rain. 
While it’s nice to take your significant other out on romantic dates and to occasionally buy them something to show your love (I actually recommend it if you want your relationship to last) why do we need a day looming over our heads forcing us to do these loving things? 
None of the commercialization is necessary. Giving into the holiday means letting the cheesy holiday win. It means seeing more lonely tweets on Twitter. Instagram feeds are flooded with posts including captions that are too long and too full of emojis. Basically, it means you’re an instigator of a holiday that’s nothing more than plastic gifts and sugar-coated feelings. 
You might as well hand that chocolate over with a card saying, “I only bought you this because there’s a holiday that says I have to.”
Wow, romantic. 
Plus, this day no longer makes people who aren’t in relationships feel good. What if you just broke up with your boyfriend, your girlfriend is overseas in the military or your grandmother is sitting at home because her husband of 20 years passed away in July?
None of those people want to walk into CVS and see a giant bear holding an “I love you” heart when they’re just trying to pick up paper towels. 
But these people don’t say anything because they don’t want to become the other end of the Valentine’s Day spectrum — bitter. 
No one wants to be the single friend who’s sat down by his or her’s coupled friends and asked to tone down the sadness and put on a smile. However, those people shouldn’t be penalized for feeling some type of way. If he or she wants to forget everything and go party in Tigerland or stay at home and cry into a pint of Ben and Jerry’s, let them. 
Don’t allow the commercialization of Valentine’s Day to make you do or think anything.
If you’re in a relationship and want to celebrate, go for it. But don’t feel the need to buy everything covered in hearts and go out on a life-changing date. Another option is not to celebrate at all and just remember you care about each other as much on the holiday as you do every other day. 
As for those who are single, you should follow the same rules. Go out with a group of friends and celebrate the platonic love in your life. Also, give your family relatives a call. Remember, they have been and will be around much longer than any relationship you’ll ever be
involved in.
Singles should also feel no shame in taking the day for themselves. Don’t worry about being single, and just take the holiday to sleep in late and binge-watch Netflix. Keep in mind being alone and being lonely are two different concepts. 
When it comes down to it, it’s always good to remember Valentine’s Day is only 24 hours of commercialized, superficial caring. Real love, whether it’s romantic, platonic or family, is endless.
Meg Ryan is a 20-year-old mass communication sophomore from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. You can reach her on Twitter @The_MegRyan.