It may be cliché, but I love love. I love platonic, romantic, familial love, self-love, all love. I’m big on rom-coms, romantasy, rodrama and romance media period. It stands to reason that I love Valentine’s Day.

For the average person, I think Valentine’s Day can be, at the least, an unimportant holiday. But for the elevated lover-boy/girl/person, the love-pilled dreamers, the ones who dare, Valentine’s Day is clocking in with the top-tier holidays like New Year’s and Christmas.

In spite of my personal ranking of Valentine’s Day, many, even those nearest and dearest to me, detest the holiday. But that’s okay. I love them because of their flaws, and I can change their minds.

Valentine’s Day is over-hated for a plethora of reasons: it’s a corporate cash grab, why choose one day to celebrate love, the I’m alone forever mentality, unrealistic expectations and the classic I’m not buying you gifts just because I love you dilemma.

And look, these are all valid for a shallow examination of your personal relation with Cupid’s special celebration. However, the simple answer is that, like love, Valentine’s Day is personal. You have to decide how you go about interacting with a holiday that is all about love in all of its sublime forms.

The fact that Valentine’s Day has indisputably become a corporate cash grab is not lost on me. As is the case with most jovial celebrations in a capitalistic society. But let’s be honest here: it’s easy not to participate in gift buying and giving.

Remember, Valentine’s Day is for you and your loved ones; if you don’t wanna give gifts, then don’t. Communicate with your loved ones and have an open discussion on your feelings about gift-giving and playing the role of a dutiful little consumer.

Some, myself included, believe that a sweet homemade gift, even a letter, has more sentimental value than a more traditional gift like, say, a bracelet. One of my most cherished possessions is a gift from my roommate, Arabella, who gifted me a hand-painted card for Valentine’s Day.

Perhaps the silliest reason to be a Valentine’s Day hater is that you lack a romantic partner of your own. I get it, like, truly.

When you’re so focused on yourself and what you feel is the missing piece from your life, that puzzle chip being a lover, that, of course, a day dedicated to love is going to be sucky, dismal and downright hateable. Screw what the masses say, the only opinion you need to listen to is mine, and I implore you to remember the other types of love: familial (not in the Freudian sense, duh), platonic and self.

Valentine’s Day is all about love! You don’t have to imbibe romantic love to have a good time. Many fond memories of my childhood are from my parents getting me strawberries and knick-knacks that were small, cheap and endorphin-releasing goodness. I’ve already discussed my platonic gifts, but I’d be remiss not to mention just how important self-love can be every day but, specifically on the love day.

You can take this by buying yourself something nice or doing something nice for yourself. All the typical self-care stuff that we so often neglect. You can take Valentine’s Day, which is typically all about others, and turn it into a day of downright hedonistic pleasure if you’re so inclined.

Maybe you hate Valentine’s Day because you feel like your partner or loved ones are going to be disappointed without a grand gesture. Maybe you’re sad because you can’t get yourself a grand gesture.

All it takes for the partner and loved one fiasco is open communication. If they can’t accept your truth, then they weren’t deserving of a gift anyway.

As for disappointing yourself, indulge in a little delusion. Gaslight yourself into being happy with what you’ve got whilst romanticizing what you want. Make yourself crave it like you crave a lover on a cold Valentine’s Day night or just a box of chocolates.

Valentine’s Day is the greatest because of how personal it can be. It’s a day simply about love in all its forms, a day to indulge and be indulged. What’s not to love about love? Xoxo, yours truly.

Garrett McEntee is a 19-year-old English sophomore from Benton.