Valentine's bullies

Valentine's day has to be the worst day in the year for singles. Even a content 'single one' such as myself can crack under the overwhelming pity poured out by the 'attached ones' and the heavy commercialism surrounding this day.

I defied traditions at our office today by refusing to wear something red this year. On two previous years, I participated in this tradition and felt silly afterwards. So this year, I wanted to express my displeasure over this over-rated, highly commercially driven and misinterpreted 'Day of Love'. The result was that I had to explain to so many curious staff as to why I was not in red; which led to questions of what my special plans for today were, which led me to saying "Nothing" over and over, which led them to pour buckets of sympathy over me for not having a significant other, which began to make me feel a little confused, small and pity-worthy.

Although logic dictates that there is no reason to feel upset over not having special plans with a special someone on the fourteenth day of February, my emotions might have got the better of me today. When one does not pass socially accepted milestones at designated points in time, one becomes an outcast and a target for bullies (just as a fat green caterpillar might appeal to a hungry bird). No matter how content one is with one's pace in life, society can sometimes eat away one's contentment and slap one as an outcast. And if one is not careful enough stick with one's guts, it's easy to cripple under the pressures and lose one's self-confidence.

366 more days to enjoy some (socially accepted) leave-the-singles-alone days, before the next hoard of Valentine's day bullies come to bite me.

On a positive note, I might be back to blogging.

[Afternote: Here's a great article to complement this blog post.]