Move aside Valentine’s Day, friendship is more important

From here on out, I suggest we change Valentine’s Day to Friendship Day. Why?

Because our culture’s obsession with romantic love is becoming unhealthy – literally. Your self worth is not determined by the presence or absence of a romantic partner. You don’t need a man or girl (or anyone else on the LGBTQA scale) to make you happy. The only person you need to make you happy is you.

Besides, just because you have romantic interest doesn’t guarantee you happiness. The romantic notion of “happily ever after” is an oversimplified lie. If someone tells you otherwise, they are trying to sell you something, whether that is an unrealistic ideal or a Disney movie.

Luckily, we can fill this Valentine season with something much more important: friendship.

Friends are guilt-free, carb-free, gluten-free, calorie-free and sugar-free nice little perks to our lives. Studies show those who have friends are likely to have lower rates of heart attacks, lower blood pressure and a greater chance of beating cancer.

This Valentine’s Day, let’s transcend romantic love and focus on human compassion and friendship.

But if you are suffering from Valentine’s-Day-induced-blues, there are resources for you. Utah State University has an awesome Counseling and Psychological Services office that you can visit. If that doesn’t work for you, call up a friend.

— Morgan Pratt is print journalism student from the sprawling suburbia they call South Jordan. She has three passions in life (other than her husband): people, radio/podcasts and journalism. Morgan aspires to combine her passions to seek truth and influence the world by becoming a radio journalist. Follow her on twitter @MorganPRobinson or email her at morgan.pratt.robinson@gmail.com.