If we are being completely honest here, I don’t know how necessary it is to put all of this high and intense pressure on men for Valentine’s Day. It’s not even just men; it’s all couples on Valentine’s Day. But for some reason men seem to be singled out on this one day every single year. I am a firm believer in the idea that if you are in a relationship you can treat your significant other well all year round and then you don’t need to overdo it on Valentine’s Day just to prove that you are a good boyfriend.

From the Jan. 1 to Feb. 13 the pressure is on to find a way to top what you did last year. It is no longer about a small gesture to remind your significant other that you love them. It seems to be that we have to buy chocolates delivered by a pug, and hire the Plain White T’s to serenade them all day just to prove our love. I would like to live in a world where guys are not automatically expected to fail on Valentine’s Day and have to make up for their failure by buying their way out of it.

The built-up stereotype of the dumb, bumbling boyfriend does not actually exist in real life. I am sure there are plenty of guys out there who forget Valentine’s Day, but there are an overwhelming number of guys who don’t screw things up every chance they get. Those are the boyfriends who don’t need to be spending their life savings trying to make up for something they never did in the first place. I believe that there should be more leniencies in the time leading up to the Valentine’s Day. We should maybe keep in mind that it is a day to be happy and love each other, not to hold high and unrealistic expectations of guys on one sugar-filled, floral-scented box of name brand chocolates.

I think it would be in everybody’s best interest to take a step back and try to tone down the insanity surrounding Cupid’s holiday. Guys just get blasted year after year with this holiday; maybe this Saturday can be a relaxing and enjoyable time. The only other thing I would like to say here is that instead of obsessing over the colossal amount of candy you will be expecting on Feb. 14; think about how grateful you are for the people you do have in your life. Think about how prior to Valentine’s Day all of your friends and your significant other have proven how much they care about you, because they wouldn’t be in your life if they hadn’t already done so.