Love is in the air. I knew it as soon as I started noticing the abnormally abundant amount of paper hearts strewn across the walls of stores (and parts of campus, for that matter), and when John Legend became the only artist I heard on the radio during my drive to school (I’m not complaining too much about that). To top it off, I’m pretty sure I saw the first Prom asking last week. All this love can only mean one thing: Valentine’s Day is near.

I consider Valentine’s Day a nonsensical holiday, and here’s why: you don’t need a special day of the year, or for that matter one day of the year, to show someone you love them. I know that’s been said before, and I know people certainly agree with me, yet still we find ourselves either going out of our way to show someone we care, or going out of our way to complain about being single (I’m talking to all you ladies out there). Now I’m only 17, so I’m not exactly one to be giving love advice, but I’ve seen a lot of romantic comedies so I’d say my expertise in this area is pretty strong. So, here we go:

Why go completely out of your way one day a year to show somebody you love them? Especially when that day of the year is one of the most expensive ones. Take your significant other out to dinner on a night when menu prices aren’t at their hiked-up Valentine’s day special price. But more importantly, take your significant other out to dinner just because you love them. Don’t make Valentine’s Day your excuse to have a nice meal.

Also, don’t make Valentine’s Day the only day of the year you buy your girlfriend flowers or jewelry. It seems to me that this day has become less about the act of caring and more about the act of showing exactly how much ($$$) you care. Add up the expensive meal, the flowers, the card, the jewelry… space that out over the course of the year and your wallet wouldn’t hurt so much, guys.  Besides, I’m 1000 percent sure they’d appreciate flowers or jewelry any time of the year.

I’m not saying disregard Valentine’s Day all together because I agree, it is an excuse to do something special, so be together and do something fun. Don’t spend an abnormal amount of money on gifts and meals; drive somewhere beautiful, take a nice walk or go sit on a bench downtown and laugh at all the ridiculous couples eating at The Cheesecake Factory.

But to me people that this day affects the most are those who are single. Valentine’s Day is the only day of the year that it is socially acceptable for single girls to come together and complain about being single. Taylor Swift hosts a single girls party each year, so I know it’s real (I’ve seen her Instagram photos). But is Valentine’s Day really the only day of the year you can do this? I don’t think so, and I’m pretty sure Taylor Swift doesn’t think so. She releases new break-up songs practically every week. Instead of complaining, go tell your mom you love her or go hang out with that sibling you never get to spend enough time with. Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be romantic: it can be a day to share simply with people you love.

It’s like New Year’s Day, you don’t need one day to change your life. Just because it’s January doesn’t mean you have to start going to the gym, you could have done that in November. Just like New Year’s Day, you don’t need Valentine’s Day to show someone you care about them. Give your friend a hug, give your boyfriend/girlfriend a kiss, tell your parents you love them and if you’re a parent, tell your kid you love them.

The king of love himself, John Legend, says it best: “All of me loves all of you.” And I know all of you doesn’t exist on only one day of the year.

Love, Kate (resident love guru)