On the road of life, Valentine’s Day is a bright red glaring stop sign. It forces people to halt and think about important people in their life. It reminds singles of what they lack and couples of what they have.
One day becomes a critical, do-or-die moment. It gives people the opportunity to take a chance and reveal their true feelings of adoration to another person.
Conversation hearts, roses, chocolate, hearts, Cupid and the colors red and pink exist to spur people to overanalyze the romantic aspects of their lives. The pressure is on to perfectly articulate love or fondness. After all, conversation hearts do not say, “You disgust me,” “I hate you,” or “Stop annoying me.”
Take a chance! Use the excuse that Valentine’s Day presents to tempt fate and reveal your soul to someone else.
Follow the footsteps of Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant in an “An Affair to Remember.” After a brief love affair, they agree to meet in six months on the top of the Empire State Building, “the closest place to heaven in New York City,” if they still love each other.
On Valentine’s Day, both rush to the Empire State Building, wondering whether the other will show. They risk embarrassment and heartbreak.
Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks follow the same story in “Sleepless in Seattle.” If they do not take a chance and show up, they will always wonder what might have happened.
Everyone should act so gutsy, especially on Valentine’s Day. Who cares if you get rejected? Take Wayne Gretzky’s advice: “You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.”
You cannot worry about the outcome of your actions. Act upon an impulse. Only think about what you want to communicate to someone else and not what they might think about it.
Even if you have told the person before or you think that the person knows that you feel this way, say it. Shed any preconceived notions about their feelings, and do not assume anything.
Tell your crush that you would like to get to know him better. Remind your wife that you love her. Send someone roses and sign your name instead of “your secret admirer.”
Some people may call you crazy, but they will not call you scared. Most likely, they will admire your fearlessness. You might even inspire someone to mimic your boldness.
Whatever you decide to do, do it with style. Have faith and confidence in yourself. There is a good reason why these words form on the tip of your tongue and you have the urge to spit them out. Say them and find out what happens.
You will feel relieved and proud of yourself for taking a chance. Even if you do not receive the response that you want, you have still done yourself a favor. You may shed pounds of excess baggage that you have been lugging around for too long.
You will no longer need to wonder what might have happened. You now know what did happen.
Try to think of Feb. 14 as an exit sign instead of a stop sign. If you keep travelling straight along the same road, you can clearly see any hazards in your path. However, this safe route may lead you away from your instinctive ambitions.
The exit sign may reveal your desired destination, but you will not be able to tell if the road is rocky until you take it. Also, you must make a quick decision whether you should exit; you cannot stall traffic.
Act spontaneously and take the exit. Revel in Valentine’s Day’s saccharine optimism and reveal the contents of your heart to someone.
If you refuse to exit your comfort zone, you will never know the happiness that you might have found.
Jenn Rousey is a senior English, French and communication major. She can be reached at [email protected].