Display Your Romantic Side

Display Your Romantic Side Photos: CFP

Every year around Valentine's day, I find myself dealing with the same questions: "Why do we need a particular day to display our romantic sides? Why not seize every day to be romantic with our loved ones?"

Attempting to find answers to these questions, my mind took me back in time. I flashed back to one of my classes during which, I posed the question "Are you romantic" to both male and female students.

To my surprise, none of my male students answered the question in the affirmative while the majority of their female counterparts replied with certainty that they were.

This prompted me to embark upon a journey to discover the reasons behind the fact that most men feel apprehensive when it comes to admitting their romantic nature.

I discovered that most of my male students associated romance with being feminine. They perceived being romantic as being weak and vulnerable. Venturing further into examining the issue, I came to the conclusion that boys are conditioned by society in general and parents in particular to feel ashamed of displaying their romantic sides.

Fathers tend to raise their boys to be strong and rational. They emphasize the fact that in order to survive in their adulthoods, they need to combat their emotional sides, or to be more precise suppress them. Dads scold boys if they display any sign of being emotional such as crying.

Since romance gears people to be emotional enough to express their feelings, it scares the hell out of men. Whereas women tend to be more mature than men when it comes to displaying emotions and exposing their romantic sides.

Maybe that's the reason we've allocated a special day for St. Valentine during which men can be romantic without the fear of being categorized as being feminine or weak.

Of course the problem remains as to how men can display their romantic sides. Obviously changing ones behavior overnight just for a single holiday is a tedious task to say the least, as letting one's romantic nature come to the fore is something that takes time and effort.

For this reason, ladies, regardless of the value of the gifts men give or how they go about showing affection, must attempt to display appreciation toward their beloved ones attempts at being romantic on Valentine's Day in order to encourage them to repeat the experience without the need for the holiday to motivate them.  Showing patience and understanding can help men rid themselves of their apprehension toward being romantic.

Taking action

As for what men can do to show affection, it's actually quite simple.

Most ladies would love to hear the magical words "I love you," or  would rejoice in a bouquet of flowers with a romantic note or poem. If you can't write, you can buy a romantic card and add a few words of your own and give it your significant other as a token of your love.

A photo album containing some of your photos together with comments from you regarding each photo is also a wonderful way to display your love for your lady.

A box of her favorite chocolates may endear you to her especially if she loves sweets.

Even something simple like breakfast in bed or a romantic dinner at one of her favorite restaurants can fill her heart with love for you.

Of course you may opt to be creative in finding your own means of displaying your romantic side. What's actually important here isn't what you do, but that you take the time to do something to show how important someone is to you.