With a genesis in Greek mythology in regards to fertility festivals and a more contemporary slant pertaining to Christian martyrdom ; Valentine’s Day has a rich history. I am not going to deal with all that. What I am going to write about is this ; another fun fact about February 14. ; it is also known as “Singles’ Awareness Day”. That is what this piece is going to be about.

If you are single then you know what I mean. Perhaps you sing along a bit too loudly to Little River Band’s “Lonesome Loser” or you go to a party where you are the only single person there? Whatever the case you are constantly reminded that you do not have a steady counterpart.

Never is this more apparent then on Valentine’s Day. If it hurts and sucks, do not feel alone. I am with you in the lonely trenches commiserating about what wasted unconditional love unrequited.

If you are totally fine with being single you will not understand what I mean. The attempts to justify the choices and directions you take in life and the effort to keep upbeat when good intentions end up as just that.

This is a call for optimism. To quote an Eels’ song, “Maybe it’s time to live”. Look at where you are and why and try to enjoy it for what it is. There is no such thing as positive or negative ; simply reactionary context for motivated stimuli.

At the very least, you are not in a terrible relationship. Looking at all the relationships around, I do not see many that seem overly positive. There is however a lot of settling, shortsighted goals and submission to societies pressures to be attached to someone.

You should be proud that you did not just kowtow to less then you wanted. The ideal of never settling for less then your dreams is something that should be applied to life.

There is a line in a Fiona Apple song about being single that states, “If you don’t have a date/Celebrate”. While you may be unable to celebrate your current disposition that does not mean you cannot at least be productive.

Take the time to learn about yourself. Perhaps picking up a hobby or joining some sort of cult? Whatever you choose, revel in it because you do not have someone else to consider; not that there is anything wrong with that. It is just that this is a time where it is good to be a bit selfish.

There is nothing to be faulted with being passionate. If currently, your romantic life has no use for that passion then just find a way to apply it elsewhere. You never know what life has in store for you unless you live it.