Oh, Valentine’s Day. It went from a feast honoring St. Valentine in 270 C.E., to spending $10 on a bag of cards for your 5th grade class, to spending $20 on a box of chocolates for your best friend! Kidding, obviously. But in the month of love, you’re surrounded by flora, pink and red, hearts, jewelry, teddy bears and so much more.
And as the years go on, finding someone to love has gotten so much… easier? You used to have to send letters, get parental permission, etc. Now, it’s as easy as stalking their Instagram and messaging a simple, “Hey!” The definition of love is an intense feeling of deep affection. While you might have a different personal definition, the general population has agreed that both platonic and romantic love is a typically good thing. And on Valentine’s Day, you’re given the opportunity to express whatever kind of love you care about most! Maybe even… love most.
“I see it mostly as a ‘day of love’ with ‘love’ being much more vast than its romantic definition. In this sense it is much more all-inclusive and less belittling of those who don’t have romantic partners, and also allows recognition of those in your life that you really do love and don’t get many chances to express it,” senior Tristan Harmon said.
The students of Terrace have lived busy lives these past few months, dealing with no internet, finals, holidays and whatever else they do in their free time. But, with the day of love just passing, they still found time to appreciate their families, friends, pet rats and so much more.
Out of everyone in his life, sophomore Matthew Alonzo-Serna appreciates his family the most for always being there for him.
“Like my parents told me, there’s only two ways you become who you are. One way is with your family, and the other way is with the outside world,” he said. “Your family sets the building blocks of how you will act when you step out of the house. Society is what teaches you stuff you don’t learn inside your home, positive and negative.”
Along with this, showing appreciation has changed over time as well. As mentioned before, chocolate and cards are certainly ways to show someone how much they mean to you. But these gifts also make Valentine’s Day seem competitive.
“Everyone always wants to outdo each other, everyone wants to give their partner the biggest and best present until it seems like it’s no longer out of love,” sophomore Reyna Rodriguez said.
This is something seen quite a bit in the 21st century especially, as we’re surrounded by media posts of who got what and what someone did for the day. For teenagers who are on social media more than anyone and are just experiencing their first relationships, this trend can seem amplified tenfold.
“I feel like teenagers treat Valentine’s Day very much as a day to shower their partner in love and express how much they appreciate them and it definitely feels more like romantic love is important,” junior Madi Beam said.
This could be seen on the morning of Valentine’s Day at school, students walking around the halls with teddy bears, baskets, bouquets. Some bouquets were provided by our very own school community, with the class of 2025 ASB selling teddy bouquets to raise funds for their prom while spreading the love.
“I loved the bear bouquet idea they had this year and the spirit week,” Rodriguez said.
Luckily, big bouquets of bears, jewelry and all the aforementioned gifts aren’t the only way to show someone you love them. The five love languages are words of affirmation, acts of service, gift giving/receiving, quality time and physical touch. Why keep it limited to gifts?! Outside of Valentine’s Day, a great way to show how much you care is being attentive.
“I actually value my time extremely highly and I make an effort to hang out with those I care about. That being said, if I’m not spending time with them it doesn’t mean I don’t care about them, sometimes I’m just not in the mood for socializing. But yeah, my main [love language] form is time,” Harmon said.
Adding to that, after a quick poll, another very popular love language among students is physical touch! Hugging, putting your arm over their shoulder, that cute thing where you’re not really holding hands but your hands are on top of each other, all of it.
“[My love language is] physical definitely, I literally give everyone hugs,” sophomore Belle Hensrude said. “I hang on my partner constantly and it’s just so comforting for me. My second one is probably quality time. I spend every second I can to hang out with my partner because I just find myself happiest with him.”
At the end of the day, the pink and red sets in shops, the gifts and roses you get, only last a few weeks. Walk into Safeway from Feb. 1 through 16, it’s decked out and looks like Cupid went $400 over their budget. Why wait for Feb. 14 to roll around when you can appreciate those around you daily? Happy New Year Hawks, and remember to live, laugh, love.
