KRISTA ALBRITTON
Staff Writer

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and with it messages of love and pictures of hearts and happy couples are flooding the universe. Social media, commercials and even famous products are spreading the love.

Dates are being made, proposals are being planned, gifts are being bought and a large majority of the single population wish to be part of the festivities. With Valentine’s Day in action, it’s safe to say that love is in the air.

For believers, that is. For non-believers, much like myself, Valentine’s Day and “love” is not this sweet, joyous and mighty thing. In my mind, Valentine’s Day is not a day of love, but a day of perceived obligation.

Why would one want to go on a date or receive a gift “out of love” on the same day as thousands of other people when, in reality, you are only on the receiving end of these niceties because society says it should happen? How is that, in any way, romantic?

If I were in a relationship, which is just as unlikely as me believing in our modernized love, I would want my significant other to do romantic and sickeningly sweet things when I least expect it.

What happened to the random acts of affection like bringing home a handful of flowers just because “I was thinking about you?” What happened to that kind of love?

Now, I may not believe in love and I may see it as only a series of chemical reactions, but I know what the love that others believe in is supposed to be like.

Love is supposed to be genuine. Love should be gentle, completely unexpected and all encompassing. When I look around at people that claim to be in love, rarely do I see it in its truest and most pure form.

Our society has twisted and permanently marred the face of love. The majority of relationships are formed based on appearance, what little compatibility can be found and what can be gained from the other person.

Looks and one’s status have become regretfully important to today’s people and if more and more individuals conform to this kind of love, it won’t be long before it is lost entirely.