Valentine's Day: It's time we fall in love

Well ladies, it’s here. The holiday we work hardest at to get a boyfriend just in time for, second only to Christmas. (Which I think is mostly due to the whole “getting a gift” factor, no?) Regardless, Valentine’s Day has arrived. It’s time for us to deal with it.And before I delve into this post, I want to give a shout out to all those guys out there who want a girlfriend for Valentine’s Day just as badly as we girls want chocolates and a date night. You guys are a rare breed, but the entire single girl population thanks you for your devotion and care for such a serious holiday. I condone you, and ask that you translate this entry into your own struggles that yield video game and Doritos binges.While those guys, who want someone to spoil on a holiday when it’s acceptable to gorge yourself with fattening foods, are GREAT... Where are they? Seriously. Where. Because I’ve been looking for 20 years and the only ones I have found either gave me the little folded up pieces of paper that come 24 to a box in the fifth grade, or are my parents. Which, by the way, does not suck in the slightest. (Thanks mom and pops for all dat candy.) The thing is, we girls have formed a horrible image for ourselves regarding this miserable wonderful holiday. We are single, so we complain, so we remain single, so we complain more. I am speaking exclusively from experience here.Well here’s our wake up call ladies: Stop complaining about Valentine’s Day and just love it already.I mean seriously. It’s a holiday designated for things we secretly want to do all year round. That awesome old guy gave us an ENTIRE DAY to be the loving, crying, psychotic, chocolate-craving, romantic comedy-obsessed, cuddle-lovers that we truly are. Why are we bashing this holiday so much?Consider how much time we spend year-round, sneaking into the kitchen and secretly downing a pint of Ben & Jerry’s. On Valentine’s Day, chow down out in the freedom of your own living room. How many romantic comedies did you see last year alone? Don’t lie. I’m talking the new ones in theaters, classics on Netflix and every one you watched on USA, TBS and E! combined. Valentine’s Day means movie marathons without the excuse of “Nothing else was on.” No longer do we need to give a reason for laying around in our old Goodwill sweatshirts heart-covered PJs: It is expected of us.Let’s take this Valentine’s Day to appreciate the true celebration of the day: girls everywhere. No boyfriend? That’s fine, go buy yourself your own gift. Bath & Body Works has an amazing new scent and a candle that smells like a real-life boyfriend. (Shameless plug, sorry I love my job.) Movies are playing on Friday night in theaters. Just because you would sit alone doesn’t mean you can’t sneak in your own wine water bottle and bag(s) of Peanut Butter M&Ms.I know this all seems very strange. I know you’re probably asking, “Serria, how can you condone such a hateful holiday that secludes painfully single ladies like yourself?” Well, good question. BECAUSE I LOVE THE HOLIDAY, OKAY? It really feels great to finally get it off my chest. I’ve been complaining about it for years (This week specifically, sorry roommates.) and I just don’t think I can do it anymore. It’s a day where girls everywhere are treated like the princesses they are and eat a ton of chocolate – who couldn’t love that? I don’t have a boyfriend to spend the holiday snuggled up next to, true. I do, however, look forward to snuggling up in a blanket while I cry myself a sweater of tears, watch some good ole fashioned RomComs and say “Pick me, choose me, love me.” right along with Meredith Grey. I will have very little zero shame about doing these things because it’s why the friggen holiday exists. (That and to give Hallmark that extra boost.)To those of you who DO have boyfriends: Enjoy this day as well. You get a day where your stupid amazing boyfriend is going to treat you as wonderfully as you actually deserve to be treated all year. Take the time to appreciate that fact that you actually have someone to tell you how beautiful you are that isn’t your grandpa or self-written Post It on your mirror. Because that is really a day-maker, even not on Valentine’s Day. Last year CNN said 6 million people are planning or expecting a proposal on Valentine’s Day, so go get a manicure just in case. You deserve to have just as great a holiday as the rest of us hopeless romantics.To those of you like me who DON’T have a boyfriend: Try and think about what kind of boyfriend you could have scraped up in the past month. The kind who didn’t want to actually “be exclusive” until AFTER the holiday. The kind who can’t actually commit or tell you that he likes you, for fear of you becoming obsessed. (Back off guys, we don’t like you as much as you think we do 98% of the time.) The kind who spends his days doing nothing and nights watching Netflix. Okay the last one doesn’t sound quite as horrible, but shouldn’t he be watching Netflix with you? We watch movies and TV shows hoping for those men to come sweep us off our feet, but most of them are actually horrible boyfriends. Seriously, go check out “The Worst Fictional Characters of All Time” to see the truth. I know they’re dreamy on-screen but think about them in real life.So we will make it, ladies. I promise. Because this holiday, this sad, lonely, romantic, sweet holiday, was created just for us. Boyfriend or not. We have the right to our ice cream, chocolate and movies just because it’s February 14th. Get your girlfriends together and reminisce about bad ex boyfriends or current crushes. Redbox ten of your favorite romantic comedies and schedule a date with yourself for the night. We’ve gotta stop hating the holiday, otherwise they’ll take it away.(That means we’re only left with our birthdays for this type of behavior, and the older we get the less pretty that picture gets.)