There's love in the air! Can't you tell? All the pinks, the reds, the whites? Bright colors, crisp weather, cozy corners, hidden kisses. Can't you feel it? Can't you feel the love? This is such a magical time of year, don't you think?
     Shut up. Just shut up.
     Valentine's Day is simply an excuse for people to act ten times mushier than they usually do, and guess what? They don't get laughed at for it. Because it's Valentine's Day. As if that somehow matters, or something.
     For girls, it's an excuse to get chocolate and flowers and candy and love without feeling incredibly guilty and self-centered. For guys, it's an excuse of “I'm so sorry I didn't mean to do that” and “Oh here, look what I've got—something sparkly! I'm the best boyfriend ever, right? Right?” Or, well, you could be that type of boyfriend who blows the entire thing off, (which, personally, makes me smile, just a little bit) but then you're in the red zone, and that's not the place you want to be. Far from it, really. You're treading on thin ground, my friend.
     And please, don't try to win me over with that “Well, Valentine's Day has been celebrated for years and years! It's history, with a neat little back story and everything! Why shouldn't it be celebrated now, and what's more, with vigor?!”
     Can someone say commercialism? Because, yeah, I can. Quite clearly.
     Come on, you've got to get a least a bit queasy when you walk into the store a week before February 14th, almost instantaneously bombarded with who-really-knows-what as you get past the door. Who-really-knows-what that looks suspiciously like cheesy, pink heart cards and hard, chalky candy that tastes absolutely terrible but people buy it in hoards because they have fancy little sayings like, "Be mine!" or something equally nauseating.
     What’s funny about the entire thing is the fact that it’s mostly teenagers who get so hung up over Valentine’s Day. Teenagers, who barely know what the word ‘love’ means. If you somehow manage to secure a boyfriend and/or girlfriend along the great highway called high school, well, you’re pretty much set for a joy-filled day (actual results will vary, of course). If you’re single, however, Valentine’s Day probably won’t be the cheeriest of holidays (or it’ll just be yet another day in the cycle of life, but we’re going to assume it won’t be the cheeriest for the purposes of this story, all right?). The 14th is quite the spectacle for high school students who have nothing better to do than sit at hard, cold desks and do boring homework for hours on end, isn’t it?  
     Now, I’m not saying that it should all stop or that people should just stop celebrating the 14th. No, of course not. All that I ask? Tone it down a notch. Just a little bit, please. Thank you, kindly.