Ah, Valentine’s Day. The holiday we all love to hate. For some, it’s just another day on the calendar. For others, it’s a day to show someone just how special they are to you—whether that person is a significant other, spouse, or just a dear friend. But there’s one other person you should never forget to take time for on Valentine’s Day—and that’s yourself!
Ah, Valentine’s Day! Some say it’s the most romantic day of the year. It’s a day to show that special someone you love them—whether that special someone is a significant other, spouse, or just a really good friend. It’s always nice to let someone know you love them! Or it’s just another day on the calendar… however you choose to look at it!
Even if Valentine’s Day isn’t your thing, it’s a great opportunity to treat yourself. I’ve said before that it’s just as important to take care of yourself as it is to take care of others.
It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and I’m single. I could write a post about being single on Valentine’s Day–either how it’s kind of nice, or how it kind of sucks–but instead, I’m going to take a different direction. Instead, I’m going to write about loving myself. That’s what’s most important here.
I’ve mentioned in other posts my challenges with fitness, like how I’ve struggled to find a method that’s good for me, doesn’t kill my knees and is enjoyable. I used to do lots of high-impact weight training and stuff like that, but my knees can’t take it anymore. Consistency was hard, too. But recently, I’ve found a fitness method that meets all of my criteria: barre classes. It’s made a huge difference, even though I’ve only been doing it for just over a month.
Barre classes are my fitness match made in Heaven (well, them + yoga and stretching). It’s rooted in ballet, small muscle movements, isometric holds and other small-impact exercises. After taking ballet for 12 years, I thought I could jump into barre classes and catch on quickly. It’s harder than it looks, I’ll say that! But so far, so good.
He lived down the hall from my freshman-year boyfriend. I knew him in passing, because he would hang out in my then-boyfriend’s room sometimes. After that boyfriend and I stopped seeing each other, I didn’t see Kevin anymore. He appeared in my English class that spring, then in a media class spring semester of sophomore year. That was when we became good friends. Our junior year, we got really close, and I kind of started to wonder… but I pushed the thoughts away and convinced myself that it was wrong to have feelings for my best friend. Toward the end of junior year and into the fall of our senior year, we started going on “dates that weren’t actually dates,” even though they probably should’ve been. Eventually we fell into a “gray area,” and at the end of that semester, we finally realized what needed to happen. Almost 14 months later, we’re wonderfully happy!
Alex says, “We met at a party, but it wasn’t one either of us should have been at.
I had only 3 hours of sleep [the night before], worked for most of a Saturday, and was hungry and dead tired by the time I got home at 8 PM. Even though the party was two hours from where I lived, I figured ‘screw it,’ filled the car up with gas, snacks, booze, and Red Bull, and began driving.
At the party, I was hanging out by the drinks, and the cute girl standing next to me (which may not have been an accident by either of us) stuck out her hand and said, ‘Hi, I’m Eleanor. I’m new.’ Throughout the rest of the night, we had the wittiest, quickest conversation I’d ever had with someone at a party, and found out we had an obscene amount of things in common (including the fact that neither of us lived nearby, and only barely knew the host). I had never clicked with anyone so quickly before, let alone someone I found so attractive. It was unreal.
Before she left the party, I asked her out, more directly and confidently than I had with anyone before. I knew I couldn’t afford to let this chance just slip away. Thankfully, she said yes, and we’ve been dating for the past 5 months.”
