We pretend to hate the things we secretly love the most

...Valentine's Day, being one of them. For my entire almost-20 years of existence, I have never experienced the commercial joys of this controversial occasion. Well, coming from an all-girls school, it would just be the adolescent boys in school uniforms standing outside the gate during dismissal time carrying heart-shaped boxes of Ferrero Rocher chocolates that were enough to get me all giddy inside -- for the recipients of those sweet gifts.

I usually take a night out to have a drink or two or just eat at a favorite restaurant with my other single girlfriends on this day, but this year is different not only because I've got someone special to share it with, but also because my other girlfriends are happily committed with their own "peeps." No matter how Hallmark-y this supposed holiday is, I love getting kilig for everybody (especially close friends) around me who are bombarded with surprises and little gifts from either anonymous or significant people.

Somehow, Valentine's Day was grander this year. Aside from the hype of DLSU's University Week (food stalls and a makeshift bazaar were strewn around the Yuchengco Lobby!), every single person I passed was either carrying a bouquet of flowers or holding hands with her/his special someone. The atmosphere on campus made me excited for everybody around me. Here and there, my friends and teammates would get random love notes and cheesecakes from an admirer. Friends would be holding heart-shaped balloons on one hand and clutching a giant card in the other. I was so happy for everyone that I didn't even mind not having anything of my own. After all, I had told my boyfriend that I wasn't one to celebrate V-Day.

But that feeling of longing hung heavily around me and, to be perfectly honest, I did crave for a thing or two to make me even just a tiny bit giddy. I went home feeling disappointed, and was set on relaxing the night away with the Grammys on the television and a bowl of buko-lychee sherbet. Then my doorbell rang, and there stood my boyfriend, carrying a ----load of take-out and the best chocolate cake ever. We spent the night pigging out while laughing to White Chicks.

For my first Valentine's Day experience ever, this holiday's not looking too bad, after all.