The Day After Valentine's Day/Galentine's Day/Singles Awareness Day/what is it called again?

The other day, one of my friends told me that she was wanting to paint her nails black…for Valentine's Day,

…What?

I've always had happy associations with Valentine's Day. It brings back memories of when I was a kid wandering through the classrooms in the various homeschool co-ops I attended handing out adorable valentine cards to my classmates. It also brings back memories of candy. SO much candy.

However, as cheesy or even nauseating as Valentine's Day can seem on the outside, there really are upsides to February 14. 

I think Valentine's Day is a day to celebrate love in general. Sure, you may or may not have a significant other, and yes, that can affect your outlook on Valentine's Day. Your gender also affects how you look at Valentine's Day, too. In fact, I've heard the day before Valentine's Day called "D-Day" or "Desperation Day" because of the daunting task it can be for the guy to plan a surprise Valentines Day for his date, especially on Valentine's Eve, so to speak. But, coming from a girl's perspective, just spending time with the other person is the most important, not all the bells and whistles.

Some of my fellow single friends call Valentine's Day "Singles Awareness Day." As clever as it sounds, though, look a little closer.

Each letter in "Singles Awareness Day" spells SAD.

SAD.

Do you really want to celebrate a day that is both literally and figuratively…sad? 

Honestly, it sounds like "Singles Awareness Day" is a day that gives people the excuse to be bitter about being single. That is not okay. Complaining about being single in such a blatant way just tends to make you bitter about everything else, especially the massive amounts of pink and red that come with February 14th.

What I'm trying to say is, plan to do something, either for yourself or someone else, or better yet, both. Pass out candy to your very best friends. Order flowers and surprise a family member. Call a family member you haven't seen in awhile. Stuff like this puts you in such a better mood, no matter what day it is

One thing that I'm so glad my friends and I planned was having a crew photo shoot. We all agreed to dress in pink and red, and it was awesome. It didn't matter if we were couples or singles. We just took pictures and had a blast.

So, dear readers, I hope you all had an amazing Valentine's Day, and I hope you enjoy all the candy that goes on sale today!