Valentine’s Day: Which Version Do you Like Best?
Illustration by Denya Harewood
Poojan Says…
Does Valentine’s Day really exist?
Picture a typical February 14th. Any occasion for small-talk: “Have a Valentine tonight?” “No.” “Single as a Pringle!” “Me? I’m too ugly for that of course.”
Most people with Valentine’s dates are already in relationships and simply going out with their significant other. And even for them, the holiday can feel like an expensive obligation. Some use Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to “shoot their shot,” but the rest of us, more often than not, spend Valentine’s Day scrolling endlessly through a feed of quixotic shots on Instagram and Snapchat.
The “festivity” seems to breed more discontent than romance or happiness. Anecdotally, I’ve found that far more people spend Valentine’s Day wishing they were on dates than going on dates. Amidst the unhappiness, the one bright-spot during Valentine’s Day is clearly the candy and chocolate, but we already have Halloween for that.
In recent years, however, Valentine’s Day has taken on a novel significance; the holiday has been used to celebrate familial and platonic love in addition to romance.
A more all-encompassing holiday would certainly be more enjoyable and alleviate Valentine’s Day depression.
Julia Says…
Everyday Should Be Valentine’s Day.
As school and snow and sunless-ness become insufferable, we need something—anything—to brighten up the dullness.
Enter: Valentine’s Day.
The fourteenth of every February is a whirlwind of sticky and sweet pink hearts, chubby cherubs, and sappy love notes. Ever the victim of salty singles (myself included) and cynical realists, Valentine’s Day has gotten a bad rap.
When we were kids, Valentine’s Day was a community-wide event. We all confidently walked into the classroom where our desks were piled high with candies and Valentines from each of our classmates.
As we grow older, however, Valentine’s seems—to most—to be more reminiscent of loneliness than togetherness. Each cute Instagram post just serves to remind us of how absolutely single we are, which is never fun.
The only people who could possibly enjoy such a holiday are couples and romantics.
I posit, however, that Valentine’s Day is more than an idealist’s holiday.
It’s a day of honesty, of recognizing the people whom you love, whether that be romantically or otherwise, and voicing your appreciation for them. It’s a day for us all to reflect: to find our own kinds of love and to be thankful for them.
That unifying something that made Valentine’s Day so special when we were kids isn’t gone as long as we keep it alive.
