I don‘t know what to do for my significant other on Valentine’s Day to make it really special, can you help me out?

What makes Valentine’s Day so special? I mean, really. It has to be the most cliché romantic holiday ever; in fact, it’s the only romantic holiday. And it didn’t even start out as a romantic holiday at all. It was to honor early Christian martyrs who were called Valentines. What is Valentine’s Day, really? Another way for the card industry and department stores to dupe consumers into spending money on something that will be in a landfill years later. Well, except if you buy jewelry, then it will sit in a drawer for years.

But don’t get me wrong. I mean, it’s kind of a nice idea – spending time with the one you love and buying a special gift for that person. But why do you have to wait until Feb. 14 to have an awesome date? There are plenty of other important dates in February. Abraham Lincoln’s birthday is on the 12th, Mardi Gras is on the 24th and you could even celebrate Groundhog Day on the 2nd. Plus, there are 11 other months that are full of crazy holidays where you could take out that someone special.

Why should you wait for one day to really let that person know how you feel; it should be an everyday thing. So if you’re really stuck on an idea for Valentine’s Day, how’s this: tell that person that you don’t need a highly commercialized, trite holiday to show how much you love them, all you need is that person.

This Valentine’s Day I encourage you to really evaluate your relationship, and figure out what it is about your significant other that makes you want to devote such a huge part of yourself to them. It should not take a consumerist holiday to bring up those feelings, all it should take is that person. So whatever you do on Valentine’s Day remember it’s not about the red and pink that is barfed all over the stores, or Hallmark cards, or gifts, it is really about that person.

As for all my single people out there, I’m sure you have all figured out ways to boycott the holiday, or mope about, but just remember Valentine’s Day is not a single awareness day, it’s just another day on the long calendars of our lives. So hang out with your friends and have a blast because you’re only single once, unless you’re Pamela Anderson.