By Adrianna Ohmes

It’s coming….

The dreaded day….

It happens just once a year….

VALENTINE’S DAY.

Now you may ask why I hate this holiday so much. The simple reason is that I’m always single. ALWAYS. All I ever see this time of year are happy couples who are holding hands or kissing a little too passionately. And in all honesty, it makes me feel inadequate that I don’t have a boyfriend.

Teenage girls sometimes go a little overboard with the whole being “in a relationship” thing around this time of year. Couples will start “dating” after only hanging out once even though they barely know each other. Just because you have one hundred mutual friends on Facebook doesn’t mean you two are necessarily compatible.

I would appreciate it tremendously if couples stopped acting like Valentine’s Day was the most important day of the year. It is just another day. Your whole relationship should not be based on the events that happen in one day. I’ve never been in a “serious” relationship. However, I can tell you that it shouldn’t be rushed, whether it’s serious or built around the “day of love”.

Rushing into a relationship just for Valentine’s Day isn’t the best thing to do, but it’s sometimes understandable that it happens. Society places tons of weight on teenage girl’s shoulders to be in a serious relationship.

On TV shows, there’s always dramatic teen couples that are so hopelessly in love, but that’s not real life. Therefore girls should not be expected to treat their boyfriends as if they’re their everything. And Valentine’s Day shouldn’t change how single girls act around guys at all.

A girl does not need a man to meet the worlds’ approval. As we are taught at STA, being independent and unique is what empowers women to be themselves and change the world. We don’t have to fit into the mold that society says we should fill, we can be our own people. And this is nothing against the girls that have boyfriends, but just remember, you don’t have to treat him like he’s your everything.  You’re still young.

While I can’t stand Valentine’s Day because I feel everything is too candy coated and artificial, there are other girls, like sophomore Christi Backer, who like Valentine’s Day.  She believes that it’s the one day that you can be really cheesy about the person you like, and it’s not considered weird.

But Backer doesn’t mind being single on the holiday of couples because she doesn’t like being tied down.  She also believes that some couples take it too far.

“It’s annoying when they take it so seriously,” Backer said. “[Valentine’s Day] is not supposed to be serious.”

I won’t be taking Valentine’s Day too serious because I’ll probably end up celebrating on my couch with a box of chocolates watching “The Notebook”. But while I sit and mope around just the tiniest bit, a lot of single girls go out with their friends.

“Most people think it’s a day you have to spend with one person,” Backer said. “But I think it’s a day you can celebrate not being tied down. You realize you’re open to everyone’s love.”

Whether you’re with your friends or by yourself, it’s okay to spend Valentine’s Day without a significant other.

Final Say: Being single on Valentine’s Day isn’t always a bad thing.