[one_half]Overrated – Isaac Scafe

February is often associated with Valentine’s Day, a celebration of the people you love the most. Partners buy each other candy, exchange gifts and go on romantic dates to express their love. Those without a date, however, rush to try to find someone to spend the day with. After all, who wants to be alone on Valentine’s Day? However, not being in a relationship is not something to lose sleep over. 

Everywhere you look, everyone seems to be in a relationship. It comes to a point where you think that everyone but you has a partner. But in reality, you aren’t missing out on a lot. It takes a lot of effort to make a relationship work. They can bring an unnecessary amount of stress into your life, especially when you’re already trying to balance school, work and other priorities. A good relationship requires work, and most people don’t have the time to make it right. 

Let’s say that you do meet the person that you think you’re going to spend the rest of your life with, and then a couple of weeks pass by and you realize that your new relationship isn’t what you had imagined at all. But instead of ending the relationship, you stay in it, fearing to be alone. A relationship shouldn’t be prioritized over your happiness. If a relationship is making you miserable, then what’s the point of being in it? Isn’t it better to be happy alone than to be unhappy with another person? 

A romantic relationship will not necessarily be the most important relationship in your life. You also don’t have to be in a relationship every minute of your life. Instead, people should focus on how they view themselves. People find a way to hate themselves despite nothing being wrong with them. You will always be your own biggest critic, but sometimes you should take it easy on yourself.  People should focus on loving themselves to make sure that they are the best person that they can be. In the meantime, being in a romantic relationship can wait. 

[one_half]Underrated – Anthony McInnis

Oftentimes people can grow weary of relationships. After all, they are time-consuming, stress-inducing and most of all expensive. However, relationships offer something essential to the human condition: companionship. Having someone there for you in your happiest and saddest moments makes a difference. This doesn’t exclusively apply to romantic relationships, but familial relationships and friendships as well. I can personally attest that all three of these types of relationships have helped me through tragedy.   

While the freedom of the single life can be a relief, it may ultimately ring hollow. There can be a profound emptiness in coming home to a lonely house or dorm without someone to greet you, care for you or even simply talk to you. It can be easy to fall into depression, when it feels like no one cares. Having solid relationships with friends, family and significant others can prevent this. That’s not to say if you’re single then you’re inherently miserable, as many people can still be perfectly fulfilled while not being in a relationship. 

Obviously, everyone has different needs based on where they are in their lives. When people are going to college, for example, they may want to focus as much as they can on their education and not want to sacrifice their time for a relationship. However, at some point in everyone’s life, most desire to have a partner. Relationships are fundamental to the human condition. The urge to find a mate and breed is something that is engraved in our DNA and as much as you may try, you cannot deny it.