For the First Time, I Celebrated Love Without Fear❤️🌹
Valentine’s Day came and went, and baby… it felt different.
I’ve vowed to keep my personal life private from now on so I debated whether I would post this but yall know I can’t keep the olive branch away from yall for too long.
This Valentine’s Day was not about gifts or cheesy cards. It was a celebration of the most healing and powerful thing in this world. Love that does not hurt you. Love that does not confuse you. Love that does not require you to shrink.
I went all out in my own way. I leaned in. I allowed myself to indulge.This was the first Valentine’s Day where I had a healthy partner. A healthy relationship. No confusion. No anxiety spirals. No wondering where I stood. And celebrate it? Oh, I absolutely did.
Not because of the flowers.
Not because of a dinner reservation.
Not because of a perfectly curated Instagram moment.
I celebrated because for the first time in my life, love felt safe.
As a survivor of many traumatic relationships, Valentine’s Day used to feel complicated. I would smile on the outside but internally brace myself. Would he show up? Would he disappoint me? Would I end the night questioning my worth again?
There is something people don’t talk about enough. When you’ve survived toxic love, your nervous system does not immediately relax just because someone says they care about you. Your body remembers. Your heart remembers. Your mind scans for danger even when things look good on paper.
So this year was not about balloons and chocolate. It was about healing.
It was about sitting across from someone who did not trigger my fight-or-flight.
It was about laughing without overthinking.
It was about enjoying affection without wondering what it would cost me later.
And that is so powerful.
For years, love felt like something I had to survive. This year, love felt like something I got to experience. I let myself feel joy without sabotaging it. I let myself be soft.
And if you have ever walked through relationship trauma, you know how big that is.
Because the truth is, when you have been through enough heartbreak, part of you stops believing that healthy love is real. You tell yourself you are fine alone. You build your walls tall. You convince yourself you do not need it.
But deep down, you still hope.
This year, I did not just celebrate a holiday. I celebrated growth. I celebrated discernment. I celebrated the work I had done to heal enough to even recognize something good when it showed up.
Most importantly, I celebrated myself.
Because before I could receive healthy love, I had to learn how to love me without chaos attached to it. I had to break patterns. I had to choose peace over passion. I had to walk away from what hurt, even when it felt familiar.
For the first time ever, I didn’t feel anxious.
I didn’t feel triggered.
I didn’t feel like I was auditioning for affection.
I felt cherished.
And I allowed myself to enjoy every second of it.
If you are still in the healing phase, hear me clearly: do NOT rush the process. Don’t lower your standards because the calendar says it’s February 14th. Don’t accept breadcrumbs because you’re tired of eating alone.
Healthy love is not loud.
It is not chaotic.
It does not leave you confused.
It feels steady.
It feels kind.
It feels safe.
And when it finally arrives, you’ll know.
This year, I indulged in love. Not just romantic love, but the love I had cultivated within myself that made space for something better.
Valentine’s Day may have passed, but what it represented for me is here to stay.
For the first time ever, I did not just survive love.
I celebrated it. ❤️
P.S. If this post hit a little close to home, A Rose Is Still A Rose goes even deeper. It’s for the woman who is ready to stop shrinking, stop negotiating her worth, and finally rebuild from the inside out. You can grab your copy here → https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FXM6G944?ref_=ast_author_ofdp_aw