Life Out There (Valentine’s Day)
by Nadia Lawand (Feb. ’02)
“The great acts of LOVE are done by those who are habitually performing small acts of kindness.” - Anonymous
What better time to talk about “great acts of love” than February, the very month of love and romance. For those of you who know me, you’re probably wondering when I’m going to start bashing Valentines, but this time I’m not going to. For so many years I boycotted Valentine’s Day because I thought it was a corporate holiday and nothing more. This year I decided to embrace this holiday. I even wish that every day could be Valentine’s Day. OK, maybe that’s going a bit too far, but just hear me out.
February marks the official month of love. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, stores are stocking up on jewelry, flowers, chocolates, greeting cards, and practically anything that says, “I love you.” We’ve all looked forward to Valentine’s Day at some point in our lives, and whether or not we want to admit it many of us have also been disappointed with Cupid’s arrow throwing abilities. Well, I can’t help but be skeptical about all the hype for Valentine’s Day. It just seems like the whole point of Valentine’s Day has gone down the drain along with all the money spent to satisfy our Valentine’s needs.
It would seem that Valentine’s Day has really changed into a corporate holiday that revolves around romantic love. So does that mean that everyone without a significant other is left out? Well according to that formula, yes! That’s where my ideas on Valentine’s Day come in. First of all Valentine’s Day should be a day of love, but not only romantic love. What about our family, friends and most of all, God? And why is it that must we restrict telling people we love them to one day out of the year? There are 364 other days of the year where we simply fly through life not taking time to tell those dearest to us that they mean a lot to us. I honestly don’t think that making an effort one day out of the whole year is going to make a difference – it’s what we do on the other 364 days that really matters.
In my opinion, the official Valentine’s Day shouldn’t be about chocolates, flowers, cards and romance. It should be about truly looking deep inside our hearts and telling our family, friends, significant others, and especially God that they mean a lot to us. Words and actions mean so much more than any object or amount of money. So on this Valentine’s Day think about all the people you care about, and remember that the greatest gift of all is the gift of love. So have a happy Valentine’s Day…everyday of the year!
Nadia Lawand is a first-year university student (equivalent to a sophomore) at Concordia University in Montreal.
