Being in the Gen Y “generation me,” I sometimes catch myself thinking about myself more than I should. Today is a perfect example. Today is Valentine’s Day, and last night I found myself calling it “singles awareness day” because that’s how it directly appealed to me. Then again, with the economy preventing more people from marriages and gender studies proclaiming men are incapable of settling down til their 30s, it’s really no surprise this came to my mind.
BUT, today isn’t about being single. It’s not even about being in a relationship, or being married. Today is about telling people you care about that you actually care about them. No chocolates, no flowers, no big fluffy bunnies. Just simple gestures and words. Forget American consumerism and tell a friend you appreciate them, or your parents you’re thankful they’ve impacted your life. Overshadowed by Cupid’s arrows and candies, the day actually belongs to St. Valentine, who wrote caring letters from a prison to anyone suffering outside his tiny cell. He was imprisoned for marrying Christian couples when they were being persecuted by Claudius in Rome, but a few jail cell bars didn’t stop him.
So really, like St. Valentine, you don’t even need to know the person. All you need to do is find someone and give a few positive words to make their day a little brighter.
Share the love.
NATE SCHRADER 
