Written by Vanessa Mutesi
February, the month of love.
It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and love is slowly brewing in the air. Every year around this time, decorations usually consist of red and pink hearts, and people are either all cuffed up or just ignoring it. People call it the month of love, and the usual focal point of this is for people in relationships. But what about self-love?
What about taking the month to love yourself and give yourself a little extra attention? Why not move the focus from relationships to yourself?
This time around, I started to look at how Valentine’s Day is marketed and its portrayal in the media. This holiday is usually geared toward people in relationships. When you look at ads for gifts, it usually says something like, “the perfect gift for him/her.” There is always this assumption that the only reason people would buy something would be to give it to someone else. But why not bring in self-love? Why not choose to market products for people who want to show themselves some love? I mean, it wouldn’t hurt to see an ad that said, “the perfect Valentine’s day gift for YOU.”
This year, I chose to challenge myself to move the focus from “Love Month” into “Self-Love Month”. Although every month should be self-love month, I chose to take this time to show myself some extra love.
I have chosen to do things that I love, to take the time to enjoy my own company. Through this, I have come to learn that I enjoy my own company, and I have found myself more at ease and happier on a daily basis. So here is my challenge for you: take this month to love yourself some more. Buy yourself something, take yourself out to dinner (it actually isn’t as bad as it sounds), or simply enjoy your own company. So here is to a beautiful SELF-LOVE season.
