The thought of Valentine’s Day makes me a bit skeptical. Maybe it is because I have never really celebrated it myself besides my mom’s yearly gift she wraps all beautifully; it makes me feel like the favorite child that know I am. Her gift came Tuesday and let me tell you, she knows me well. The reason I feel uneasy about Valentine’s Day is because that there should not be a specific day to celebrate love out of the 365 days we are given in a year.

This Valentine’s Day is a first for me this year. While I may have had the chance to celebrate, none of my previous partners have ever made an effort to do something during this day. Maybe this is where my valentine doubts and speculation are rooted deep.

Today some people will get flooded with flowers delivered to their doorstep, some will receive decadent chocolate and that does sound wonderful; specifically those dark chocolate ones with the caramel on top. I had never felt the appreciation or gesture of getting flowers until literally this past September. It is an unreal feeling being given something so beautiful and if I could give every person flowers to feel the way I did, I would.

However, I can’t help but wonder why there needs to be one designated day for someone to make you feel special. If you are banking on today to be the day a man or woman spoils you, you need to check yourself because they should be doing that every day.

There are actually five love languages and you may not be the kind of person who feels loved through gifts. You could be more drawn towards the other four: words of affirmation, acts of service, quality time or physical touch. I also know that you could be a mix. Now I am not saying that being flooded with chocolates and flowers is a bad thing, but some people have a greater admiration for other languages too.

Have you ever heard the actual story behind Valentine’s Day? The thing is, nobody truly knows why we really have the holiday. There have been multiple stories suggesting that Saint Valentine was the man who saved romance and love from dying. Some believe that he was a priest who secretly performed marriages for young lovers in defiance of Roman Emperor Claudius II outlawing marriage for young men during war.

One story suggests that Valentine was killed for trying to help Christians escape the horrifying, immoral Roman prisons where men and women were often beaten and tortured during their captivity. Supposedly, Valentine sent the first ever “valentine” to a young woman he fell in love with, who may or may not have been his jail guard’s daughter, signing the letter “from your Valentine.”

Are you getting the romantic correlation to that story? It may be my favorite rumored valentine story. As a huge romantic myself, the theories of the heroic, loving historical leader fascinate me and leaving me wondering what it is like for those who are unable to communicate or see their loved ones. So despite my confusion at having a singular day to celebrate your true love, the romantic history always gets me. Every. Time. I can’t stop picturing the millions of letters that have been sent over the years since Saint Valentine’s time; the raw emotion drawn onto paper and sent onward for someone to grasp those emotions and feel it themselves.

There is nothing more universally human than the feeling of love and affection, so I guess if there is one day to fully immerse yourself in it, I suppose today can be that day. Just remember that there are many ways to express that flutter beating out of your chest.