Not even a week before Valentine’s Day, the Student Organization set out their fun dip and pink cupcakes for sale. In this very instance, they were capitalizing on hungry students eager to celebrate a holiday to fundraise money. But where did they get this idea from? Certainly, they did not invent selling candy; even better, they had to get their hands on those themed cupcakes elsewhere.

As February approaches, the pressure to buy the perfect gift for your significant other increases yearly. Shops and restaurants make it easy to relate to your feelings with extravagant decorations and pink and white presents everywhere you go. If you’re single and looking to escape the dread of spending yet another Valentine’s Day alone, good luck because I’m sure you already noticed that you can’t. 

Valentine’s Day has completely lost its meaning and has been reduced to nothing but a money-making machine for businesses. It is no surprise that everyday things suddenly seem so expensive. Suppliers for flowers jack up their prices, leaving big chains as their only legible partners while small businesses get left behind. Restaurants expand their menus to new pretentious dishes that are unrealistically priced. Cards, stuffed animals, chocolate, and other themed gifts make their way to the display once again to be picked up by people who do not even know what they are celebrating.   

However, this does not stop at couples because companies find a way to capitalize on single people. If you’ve ever walked down a gift store’s isles, you have seen some cheugy, self-deprecating humor for single people to relate to. It is accessible to prey on sadness, so you might see somebody walking around with a sweater or a sign denoting their single lifestyle. 

As wealthy people continue to push harmful standards of life on the middle and lower classes, more holidays become a watered down version of themselves, eventually disintegrating their culture and meaning. It is important to understand the issue under the surface, making plutocrats even wealthier while the ordinary people struggle to make ends meet. In this political and economic climate it is simply irresponsible to get caught up in Valentine’s Day celebrations that involve spending hard earned money.

The history of holidays tends to disintegrate throughout the years,  but other holidays have at least maintained an essence of meaning. Valentine’s Day has turned into a scam entirely.  

In reality, you don’t need a day on the calendar to show you care for somebody. If you really want to make a difference, little gestures that don’t involve money matter much more than one random day in February throughout the year. Instead of going on a date, opt to make dinner at home, which is just as meaningful but without supporting a blatant money grab. And if your love language is gift receiving, then no need to get hung up about this one month out of the year; you have all the time to receive and cherish your gifts. We must stop corporations from profiting off our emotions and focus on what matters and makes a difference.