I love you all like Leslie loves Ann.

Happy Valentine’s Day, friends!

For a long time, I was one of those girls who openly and adamantly disliked Valentine’s Day. But then I realized something: Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate love, and love encompasses so many feelings beyond just romantic attraction. I love my friends, I love my family, I love my jobs, and I love my hometown. I love dancing, writing, reading, watching sports, and eating chocolate. I love books, movies, TV shows, and theater. And I love Nerdy Girl Notes and everything it has given me in the nearly two years since I started it.

Take some time today to think about all of the things and people you love, and do something today to honor that love. Re-read your favorite part of your favorite book, watch a favorite episode of a TV show you love, or cheer for the country or athletes you love in the Olympics. Have dinner with a friend, call your mom, or surprise your significant other with a thoughtful gesture.

And don’t forget to take a moment today to do something nice for yourself, too. Loving yourself doesn’t make you conceited, and treating yourself to something nice doesn’t make you selfish. You should love yourself, because everyone deserves love.

If you’re single and kind of depressed about it today, don’t think you’re alone or unworthy of love. You’re worthy of the best kind of love; it’s just waiting for the right time to make itself known to you (and you have plenty of people—myself included—waiting right along with you). You’re not defined by your relationship status, so don’t define yourself by it. Instead, choose to define yourself by the things you love about who you are. Because—from what I know about the kinds of people who visit NGN—there’s plenty to love.

I am a hopeful romantic—there’s nothing hopeless about me. I am a passionate, enthusiastic person who thrives on encouraging others to be passionate and enthusiastic. I find inspiration and joy in loving things instead of hating them, in embracing hope instead of cynicism, and in caring about things and people with my whole heart instead of being apathetic. Valentine’s Day is one of those days when I feel proud to be a person who wears her heart on her sleeve.

I’m not shy about expressing how much I love the things I love, but sometimes I can be shy about expressing how much I love the people who make my life better just by being themselves. So if you’re reading this—no matter who you are—thanks for visiting NGN today. I really do value every single person who takes the time to read what I write. And to those of you who are frequent (or even infrequent but still awesome) commenters, I love the way you brighten this place with your own enthusiasm and passion.

I hope all of you are having and continue to have a wonderful Valentine’s Day. I hope it’s filled with the things and people you love, and I hope it reminds you that, in the words of Once Upon a Time, love isn’t weakness; it’s strength.