The T&C takes a look at how students, both in relationships and not, spend their Valentine’s Day.
Single
Morgan Hendrickson
Typically, on Valentine’s Day people are excited to spend time with their significant other, have a romantic evening and find a heartfelt gift for them. But, that is not for me. I do not have a significant other and never have throughout my college years. Feb. 14 is just another day to me.
The only Valentine’s Day I actually celebrated was when I was a junior in high school, and the day was something short of a comedy. I bought my boyfriend at the time his favorite candy, which were Nerds, and a card. When I went to pick him up from his house, he sat in the car empty handed. I took him to a little Italian restaurant that I picked out. He only had $20 on him, which half of it could cover the tip. So, I was left paying for the whole meal while he covered the tip.
So, in my opinion, Valentine’s Day is given too much hype. I do not think one day of the year should be dedicated to showing your significant other you care or to having a romantic evening.
Just for kicks and giggles, my girlfriends and I will get somewhat dressed up, and go out to dinner together. After dinner, we usually go see a scary movie because my friends and I always have to see all the scary movies that are out, even if they are the equivalence of dirt.
Josh Overholser
Valentine’s Day is something single people are supposed to hate, right? We’re either supposed to get all down and depressed and sing “Woe, is Me” or simply say, “I don’t need this stinkin’ holiday! Who needs a relationship?”
My take is a little bit different I certainly do not love Valentine’s Day, but I would not say that I hate it either. My problem, rather, is with the culture of holidays we have in America. We look for excuses to celebrate anything, always wanting to find a way to party.
Literally every day is a holiday. When searching February holidays, I found 55 holidays for the 28 days. Of course there is Groundhog Day, Valentine’s Day and President’s Day, but did you know we have a National Gum Drop Day on Feb. 15? How about National Tortilla Chip Day or Sleep in Public Day? The list goes on and on.
Why do we need a designated day to tell a significant person in our lives we love them? Shouldn’t that be a daily occurrence? And as for some of the other more obscure holidays, give me break.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t have fun and celebrate from time to time, but I don’t see why we need all these excuses to do so. Too many holidays and the over commercialization of them distract from the “Big Four” that actually should be celebrated and taken seriously: Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving and Independence Day.
Taken
Laina Thompson*
Four years ago, my boyfriend and I spent our first Valentine’s Day together. He picked me up from work on my break and took me to Burger King. He gave me a small stuffed dog and a box of chocolates that he accidently sat on. As we laughed and shared the smushed candy, we agreed that Valentine’s Day was a useless holiday and thus, Anti-Valentine’s day was born.
The following year, it was his turn to work. After his shift, I met him at the Rooster’s beside his work, and we spent the evening eating wings, watching basketball and making fun of the girls who were there pouting over the fact that their boyfriends took them there, of all places, on this holiday.
Year three I made his favorite dinner, Cajun chicken Alfredo and chocolate covered strawberries for dessert. After we ate, we spent the rest of the evening playing Xbox together.
The next year we got each other Nooks and spent the evening laying in bed reading and eating frozen pizza.
Our plans on this holiday are usually spontaneous, however, this year, once we found out that “A Good Day to Die Hard” was coming out on the 14th, we were sold. The plan is to go to Kitchen Den Bar at Easton first for some pizza and beer, then go watch the movie.
The way we see it, we don’t need to set out a certain day each year to be romantic and show our love for one another. Romance isn’t planned and it certainly isn’t bought.
Neil Brown
Maybe I’m just lucky, but my girlfriend doesn’t expect much from me on Valentine’s Day. Our plans for this year, I recommend it for all guys out there, we are going to just hangout and watch Sleepless in Seattle — one of Tom Hanks’ secretly great films.
Maybe if I’m lucky, she’ll treat me to a great dinner at the Campus Center since I live off campus. To me, Valentine’s Day is very overrated and is over commercialized, not to sound like a hipster.
You shouldn’t have to have a day once a year to show your special someone how much they mean to you with flowers and chocolates, both of which will be overpriced and forgot about in three days. My advice: find an awesome girl that hates Valentine’s Day as much as you and you’re set.
