LOH Contest #172 - Love has no calendar.

February 14 is a day I am always looking forward to because it's always a special day for me. My birth month is February so is my mom's birthday and she will mark a new age on Valentine's Day.

Although Valentine's is a special day for celebrating love but I always believe that it shouldn't end with just that day. If we choose to celebrate love just once a year, what happens to the remaining days of the year?

Love shouldn't be celebrated just once a year and it shouldn't be restricted to just our lovers. It's okay to spread love among people and I feel happy when I can put a smile on people's faces after pouring a bit of my love into their lives. These days, it's hard to make people happy especially in my country because of the situation of things. Mere gifts don't make people as happy as they should and it's very understanding. For this reason, I just do my thing around people who know the value of how I express my love for them.

I express love in different ways and it depends on who you are to me. Firstly, expressing love begins with being there for my loved ones whenever they need me. There are a lot of things that money can't buy and among them is being there for people when they need you the most.

A few days after my convocation, my friend had hers in another state and I had to be there because she was an orphan her guardian wasn't around and to prevent her from feeling lonely, I had to turn up for her. I could have just decided to send some money but it wouldn't be as valuable as me being present.

That's just an instance and there are many ways I have stepped in for my loved one. Sometimes, it might just be that they need someone to talk to and when they call me, I give them listening ears. I pay attention and give them honest thoughts on whatever it is they called for.

It could be financial assistance too, I don't have enough because I am a student but I always try my best when anyone turns to me for help.

I like giving surprises and unexpected gifts, I feel it makes people feel very special since they aren't expecting it. I and my lover don't wait till Valentine's before we exchange gifts, we don't do that time and it's really special. I do that with my family a lot and they always love it when this surprise pops up.

Sometimes, I don't give a gift and I can just invite my friends or family to go out for lunch with me. I do that with my boyfriend too and he loves it.

All these things don't just go like that and even when I expect nothing in return, I get a lot in return. It's a beautiful thing to always spread love, the feeling hits differently for me.