So is it serious?I hate this question when it comes to relationships – perhaps because I’m never quite sure how to answer it.

Yes, maybe? It could be, I guess.

But I also thought it could be with the guy who told me we should break up because a greater power told him he should be single. Or with the guy who broke off our long-distance relationship because he had an “out of sight, out of mind” attitude.

In the words of Taylor Swift, one minute it was perfect and then he’s halfway out the door. My point is, it’s hard to predict how long a relationship is going to last.

This is probably one of the reasons I’ve always questioned the meaning of Valentine’s Day. It’s full of people who are either annoyingly and sickeningly mushy, or those who are burned and hate the holiday as a whole, and I generally see more of the latter.

The urban dictionary seems to back this up. If you look up Valentine’s Day, it doesn’t say anything about couples or love. Actually, it gives these definitions: 1) The reason so many people were born in November. 2) A holiday maliciously created to make lonely people extremely depressed. 3) A corporate conspiracy conceived by candy makers, rose growers and jewellers to get people to spend money on junk.

It seems to me that Valentine’s Day has somehow gotten a bad reputation.

I certainly used to be one of those who hated the holiday as a whole, thought the concept was stupid and that it just made singles depressed.

I never had a valentine for the first 19 years of my life, and then even when I had one, it didn’t feel like anything special because the only reason I received gifts was because it was expected.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to appreciate the holiday for different qualities.

If I could create a new entry in the urban dictionary, it would be something to the effect of “a day to celebrate relationships,” and I don’t just mean romantic ones.

Now, to me, Valentine’s Day is about celebrating the people in your life who you care about.

What makes the holiday special to me isn’t getting candy or flowers from a guy that I might be crushing on at the given point in time, but rather getting a surprise card in the mail from my mom, or a goody bag of candy and cupcakes from good friends.

I think my most valued memories of the holiday include the time my sister surprised me with balloons she sent to my middle school, or the time she had a gift basket sitting in my room for me when I woke up Valentine’s Day morning.

Or this year, when I had a bouquet of flowers waiting for me on my porch when I got home from work.

Is it serious?

Yes, actually it is. She’s been with me through literally everything my entire life, and I know she always will be. There’s no guy out there than can even come close in comparison.

For those jaded few, this Valentine’s Day, I encourage you to celebrate every relationship, and let those who are important to you in your life know how much you care about them. It’s the little things that mean the world to someone, and you might find yourself not hating the holiday as much as you once did.

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