Be Your Own Valentine | Charleston SC Valentine Session | Charleston SC High School Senior and Teen Photographer

I think it’s about time we redefine Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day is the third largest (gift giving) holiday in the United States. Every year around February 14th single girls, and women alike, start to feel the sadness of not having anyone special to share this day with. I want girls to redefine Valentine’s Day. Make it a day to celebrate the LOVE you have for YOURSELF. Don’t count on one day a year for someone to make you happy, make yourself happy! Here are some ways to practice self-love on Valentine’s Day, and every day after!

1. Write yourself a love letter! Don’t be shy! Write down and celebrate all the things that make you love you. You have a great sense of humor? GREAT! Write that! Love to make others happy! Write it! Forget all the ways you might have fallen short for just a few minutes, and celebrate all the ways things that MAKE YOU AWESOME!

2. Do something special for yourself! Buy yourself those delicious chocolates, and those beautiful flowers. Take a candlelight bubble bath and enjoy the down time.

3. Give yourself a social media shout out! This one might seem silly, but who cares. Let everyone know, that you know just how amazing you are!

4. Make yourself a love “mixtape”! Create a playlist, or a station, full of songs that make you smile and feed your soul!

A few of my favorite self-love songs:

LOVE MYSELF-HAILEE STEINFIELD

CONFIDENT-DEMI LOVATO

DON’T BE SO HARD ON YOURSELF-JESS GLYNNE

SCARS TO YOUR BEAUTIFUL-ALESSIA CARA

5. Practice makes perfect! Practice self love and self acceptance every day. Cut yourself some slack when it comes to your faults. Realize the other people that you might see as perfect, or succeeding, have struggles all their own. Do your best, and realize that your best is good enough. Realize that YOU. ARE. GOOD. ENOUGH. Practice this every day, and one day it will just be second nature.

Happy Valentine’s Day. I hope you’re good to yourself this year!