Emma Caroline Brown
Editor
February is known as the month of love, as Valentine’s Day fills stores with heart-shaped decor, but our love and appreciation for one another should last past this month.
We all have someone in our lives that we love or appreciate, and we show it in different ways. These ways could be as simple as a message or as big as a present. Either way, these efforts show our acknowledgement and appreciation for the people we love.
On Valentine’s Day, millions of people make these efforts. One day to show our love and care. But why should that be limited to just one day? One day to write notes, buy flowers, text or call, and focus on all things love-related. That is not the way love is meant to be celebrated.
Why not make our appreciation and love known every day? Doing this does not limit us to just significant others because we can show our gratitude to friends and family as well.
Swapping funny cards, exchanging heartfelt notes, and buying each other’s favorite candy or snack are thoughtful gestures to show how we care and know one another. Small gestures go a long way, especially when you have had a hard day or are feeling lonely.
Love, care, appreciation and thoughtfulness should be organic feelings that make us want to acknowledge meaningful people. We should not feel forced into honoring these feelings on just one holiday because this leaves 364 days that we could use to show our feelings.
Celebrating Valentine’s Day is a lovely way to acknowledge love, but we should celebrate the holiday’s meaning every chance we get. Love should be a continuous feeling we carry with us every day and express in thoughtful ways that do not always have to be grand gestures.
Checking in on a friend or family member to show you are thinking about them, telling someone you love to have a good day, sharing something with a friend because it reminds you of them or spending quality time with someone are some of these ways we can show continuous love daily.
We should all focus on making an effort to make our love, appreciation and care known as often as we can. By doing this, we are encouraging others to show and share these feelings as well. In a world where kindness and care get lost in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, showing our love allows us to slow down, appreciate one another and be a loving light in people’s lives.
While Valentine’s Day is not a bad thing to celebrate at all, we should focus on spreading the meaning of the holiday every day of the year instead of focusing all of our love on just one day. So, this year, take the time to spread your love and care to those who mean something to you.