Ok so Valentines day was just yesterday and if you’re somebody reading this who’s sad that you didn’t have a special valentine, I think that this post is for you.
Yes, Valentine’s day is the epitome of love, where people have grand celebrations to celebrate their partners. However, not everyone has a valentine to celebrate, which is 100000% ok. In fact, since Valentine’s Day is all about love, I think that celebrating your friends can be just as fun too. Today I’m introducing a concept called, “Galentines”.
Essentially, Galentines is a celebration for women where you honor platonic friendships (and if you’re a boy reading this don’t worry you can also have your own special version of this too). It typically involves meeting up with your closest friends, dressing up in fancy clothes (preferrable pink, red, and white), exchanging gifts, eating food, or basically just doing whatever you want while having fun. The whole purpose if it is to appreciate your friends and showing that love isn’t all about romance.
I actually did a Galentines with some of my friends, where we dressed up, went out for brunch to eat a million pounds of food, and did a cute little gift exchange. Laughing until my stomach hurt and I couldn’t breathe, I realized how lucky I am to have people who I love just as much as they love me. It served as a gentle yet super fun reminder that even if you don’t have a Valentine, it’s 100% ok because you can appreciate your friends just as much if not more. Your friends are the people who you express your most authentic self to. The ones who are there for you when you’re going through hard times. The ones who you laugh with and cry with and feel comfortable and just happy around. Ultimately, all of this is love in itself too.
I think that we grow up with the idea that love is something that is supposed to be “found” like a special treasure or winning the lottery, but in reality it can actually just be sitting right in front of you.
So even though Valentine’s Day just passed, make sure to appreciate the friends in your life, and love them with all your heart. Get out your phone, or if you’re reading this on your phone once you’re done, go text your friends and tell them how much they mean to you. You don’t need to do this in a cheezy way like we’re in an 80s romance movie, but you can make it super silly instead (which I think is even better).
Happy Valentines Day!