Love (v.)

For those of you who do not know what to do with your Valentine’s Day, this column is for you.

Whether you are taken or single on this glorious Friday, I have a few words of advice. Don’t sweat it.

It’s just another day, except full of pink and red hearts, fluffy teddy bears and lots of girls cuddling in bed with a box of heart-shaped chocolates they bought for themselves and watching Netflix.

OK, the latter may just be me. However, I mean it when I say that Valentine’s Day is just another day.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge believer in love and even have the word tattooed on my shoulder. But I think people get the idea of love all wrong.

In general, they fall into the cliches of a romantic commitment. However, there is more than one kind of love.

Growing up, I learned about and was fascinated by the Greeks’ four kinds of love and their separate meanings.

Phileo love is platonic, friendship type of love, while Storge love is more of a family-oriented type of love.

Eros love is the passionate, romantic love that most people think of when Valentine’s Day rolls around. It often accompanies the feeling of being “in love” with another person, or infatuated, if you will. All these types of love can coexist and form stronger relationships.

Agape love is described as the unconditional type of love, where the person accepts someone for who he or she is without question. This is the kind of love that is chosen, instead of a reaction and for that reason it is my favorite.

With all these forms love can take on, spending Valentine’s Day alone shouldn’t be an option. It’s just another day, where you are thankful for those around you that care about you in any fashion, whether it be a friend, family member or significant other.

Instead of wallowing in the self-pity of Single’s Awareness Day, turn your attention toward the people with whom you spend the most time – the people who don’t need a sappy Hallmark card to remind them you care. Decide to be with people you show agape love.

Valentine’s Day is ordinary and cliche, but love is all around every single day whether you see it or not. In the wise words of John Mayer, “Love ain’t a drug, despite what you’ve heard. Yeah, love ain’t a thing. Love is a verb.”

 

Column by Hunter Harrell, Features Editor

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