Valentines Day!

So its that time of the year again, when couples are disgustingly cute, and single people celebrate their freedom. I for one am lucky enough to enjoy the benefits of both.
But first, a little background on Valentines day. St. Valentine is an actual saint! He was a priest in Rome who helped martyrs in persecution under Claudius II. He died a bloody death for refusing to renounce his faith and is now the patron saint of love.
Its also the anniversary of a pretty bloody massacre... 'cause what better way is there to celebrate love than with guns, right?

Somewhere along the line we've commercialized it to the point where its more about the stuff than the love (cue awkward couple date). So what did I do? For a girl who's not so single, it was a very single day. There was feminist slam poetry, Sweet Home Alabama, and yummy food.

MJ Cafe's brick toast

The not so single aspect didn't come until a day later, and it was still pretty awkward, but sappy nonetheless. And I did learn that espresso really can get you jittery XD

my lovely espresso from iSweet

But I also had to really think about love. What it is and what it means. The conclusion I have come to is that everyone has a different definition of love, and that definition evolves as we evolve. For a thirteen year old, its about being something new, exciting, and just falling in love with the idea of love. As an older teen, its more physical and figuring out love mixed with hormones and the terrifying prospect of an uncertain, impending future. Eventually you get to the point where its about mutual support and companionship. Someone to grow old with and raise a family. Sometimes they all involve the same person. These are the lucky ones. More often though, they don't. More often, they involve a lot of different partners, and each one  leaves a mark when they leave. But that's okay, those marks are necessary and make each experience all the more beautiful.

So instead of celebrating romantic love, why don't we just celebrate the beauty of the world around us. Whether its in the people around us, our friends and family, or just ourselves, lets celebrate the act of being, rather than being in love.