A Hypocrite on Valentine's Day

Well, it's that special day of the year again. That day where you gloat about your significant other who you were able to somehow successfully capture. Or, depending on your recent experience as a single individual, today's the day you pull the Grinch card and complain about the consumerism and wishy-washy feel of this pointless holiday without using the word "jealous".

And me being the avid social networking cadet that I am gives me more reasons to rant. Because every single post I see on Facebook concerning Valentine's Day can fit into either of those two categories. And I'm sure the same goes for Twitter, Google+, and all those other sites that interesting people use to spew the news of their interesting lives (I include myself in this criticism).

But to understand my views on this day of segregation, we must dive into the history of Eddie Baldasaro: He's been in-and-out of various relationships since the 7th grade, but he's never taken a girl out on a Valentine's date. In fact, he's had a girlfriend on every other holiday except this strange one. Maybe it's because he's always been in the wrong place at the wrong time or maybe he just didn't feel that special spirit once that fateful day approached. Whatever the reason was, every year he'd still proclaim February as his most hated month due to the miserable weather, mob of hopeless romantics, and all that "Valentine's bullshit".

Then in 2012, at the tender age of 22-years-old, he went and got himself a girlfriend. A girlfriend who has never been on a Valentine's date as well. Now they are both conquering this milestone together by buying each other adorable gifts and going out to a romantic dinner.

Now Eddie's become a hypocrite. The epitome of everything he's hated: That "smug fart knocker" who rings the doorbell with flowers, chocolates, and a conniving smirk in tow. So I've had to come to a realization to deal with this type of revelation: Why did I even give a shit in the first place?

Why do we put so much negative energy into this pseudo-holiday? Sure I'm still not a big fan of the whole "feed-the-big-business-by-feeding-the-insecurities-of-the-consumer" aspect of it, but that feeling goes hand-in-hand with being a communications major. I'm suppose to be critical of the obvious (as well as the subliminal) marketing within the media. But looking back at myself, I feel like I've been a jealous, little dirt mongrel when really it was just wasted energy. I ended up spending way too much time throwing fits about how happy these pink-obsessed people were for having someone else to go out with while I sat home on my beanbag chair, eating Cheeto's and watching Dexter's Laboratory.

It didn't help

I was jealous, and I'm a bit ashamed of it. But the first step to Valentine's Day recovery is acceptance, and I've completely accepted the fact that I've been a jealous man. Now the second step is a little harder. People need to learn and demonstrate the natural human ability of ignorance in a positive manner. Because people don't realize how easy it is to just ignore the countless posts from their cutesy-wutesy acquaintances. Ignorance is an ability most people usually only use on ideas of relevance that shouldn't be ignored... such as but not limited to potentially brewing wars, the real motives of presidential candidates, and what we're actually eating from the supermarkets.

Oops, my mind ventured away from the subject at hand a bit there. Let's just cut to the chase and get to the moral of the story.

People, start using your pent up ignorance for good so that you can mask the irrelevant issues and complaints that your mind and the social world around you has created. Ultimately, you need to accept people's lives and turn your head away from the unfamiliar yet harmless. It's as simple as that. Negatively dwelling on aspects of those who don't affect you will only separate yourself even more from being the ultimate happy camper that you can be. This isn't even just a lesson for Valentine's Day. It's a lesson on life.

Much love and Happy Valentine's Day.


TODAY'S TASTY TRACK

K'naan (Feat. Nelly Furtado)
"Is Anybody Out There?"
When you're insecure about yourself
It's a fact
You can point a finger
But there's three pointing back
I can see her crying out, yeah
Is there anybody out there?