Valentine’s day is the time of year where love is in the air and people show their appreciation for one another. Either with gifts or words of affirmation, the sky’s the limit. The holiday is all about spreading the joy of being loved and the act of love whether in a relationship or not.
Apart from this, why would there be so much hate towards the holiday? Is it as overrated as most people say? Students at Steinbrenner have given their thought, and there are many different views on the holiday, either loving it or hating it.
Some students are fond of it all together with the big red hearts and chocolates. They are just fascinated by the themes of love and how everyone expresses it in their own articulate way, especially towards another very special person.
“I love getting flowers and a teddy bear from my dad, I get one every year,” said sophomore Doralynn Anthony.
Although a considerable amount of people think Valentine’s Day is just for their significant others, individuals show appreciation to their family and friends all the time. It’s not all about romantic relationships, but relationships with your loved ones.
However, it’s been hard to break the stereotype, with the holiday being primarily wrapped around having a significant other since it’s what many students grew up to know.
Normally, it is common to see couples in movies having a special date on this romantic holiday, or fellow classmates’ hand and hand in the hallway with flowers. Yet, this isn’t a big deal to them because they don’t have a significant other to experience this with.
“I think it’s a good holiday if you have a girl being your valentine its enjoyable, but if you don’t then it doesn’t really matter because you have no one to express your love to,” said sophomore Ashtin Horl.
This brings up why individuals don’t enjoy this holiday. People feel like Valentine’s Day is only for people in relationships. It often seems downgrading or annoying to those who don’t have a relationship to share the love with.
That isn’t the only reason why a few students hate this holiday. It also includes the act of having to give gifts or even participating at all. It seems like a chore to many and not enjoyable to those who don’t see the meaning of the romantic holiday.
The act of giving non-meaningful gifts but random assortments of chocolate and store-bought teddy bears have people seeing the effort but not the message it’s supposed to send. Anyone could go to the store and do this, but how could this correlate to someone’s love when it’s so much more than that?
A lot of times, people feel as if there isn’t a need to express themselves through gifts and feel that emotions are more important than the commercialized aspects of the holiday.
Sophomore Alina Prieto said, “A lot of people don’t get their boyfriends and girlfriends a gift and just call it a date.”
As students say, it can come off as overhyped when a part of the population does not even participate in the gift giving part of things. But while many have a large problem with this holiday, it could come off as saddening to others who deeply cherish it and all the history behind it.
From cupids bow to all the cheesy romance movies that celebrate the theme of Valentine’s Day, this brings joy to many student’s hearts. Feeling the presence of love brings happiness to them, even to those who don’t enjoy it as others do.
Although many have their own opinions about this holiday, it is still one that should be cherished no matter what. Just texting someone on this day or pouring your heart out on love letters is what Valentine’s Day can be. This holiday was made for candy industries to make profit but turned into a way for people to express their feelings and gratitude which should never be taken for granted. Whether you love it or hate it; Valentine’s Day will be carried on for lifetimes.
