Thoughts on Valentine's Day
In lieu of traditional editorials, The Spectrum presents personal reflections on love and romance by members of the staff.
Romance should be year round
I've personally never really had an extraordinary Valentine's Day. I've seen many of my friends lament about not having anyone special on this day and have even moped about it myself once or twice. But like people many my age, I don't need Valentine's Day to urge me to wonder what it will be like to find that someone to be all mushy and disgustingly cute with all year round.
Maybe I've just been watching too much Grey's Anatomy; I do believe that there is a McDreamy or MsDreamy out there for everyone. Someone that makes you realize that February 14th should probably be renamed International Hallmark Spiked Sales Day and that Cupid should probably put some clothes on. Because chalky candy hearts and expensive gifts given between Christmas and birthdays don't validate relationships, it's the feelings that you have for your special someone the other 364 days of the year that urge you to blow all your beer money just to see them smile that really counts.
So, if you are spending this Valentine's Day with someone, remember that the romance should not stop at the stroke of midnight on February 15th. If you are spending the day solo, you can simply plan early to be mushy and disgustingly cute with someone throughout the rest of the year.
Fionna Agomuoh
Asst. News Editor
The best sweethearts: good friends and a 30-pack
My Valentine's memories are a little hazy.
I don't particularly remember anyone giving me a hand-made card in 3rd grade, or receiving a box of chocolates somewhere in my 22 years on this planet.
Don't get me wrong, I've had my valentines, my sweet hearts. I've had a girlfriend or two, but for all the times I've spent close to someone I felt deserved the term "my valentine," I've yet to experience a moment or a day so special it deserves its own place in this scrambled head of mine.
The only real memory I have of St. Valentine's holiday is that of good friends, warm booze and great times.
Perfect combination, if you ask me. What need do I have for someone dragging down my wallet just so that she can feel special on a day where approximately half of women receive the same worn gifts?
I'd rather spend a night at the bar with my buddies trading unsavory stories and laughing about which of our friends got suckered into driving two hours and spending $100 dollars to see a girl he spends most of his time fighting with.
To be honest, I'm not lonely or asking for someone to come and warm me on these chilly February nights. I'm perfectly contempt to spend this Valentine's Day like I've spent most of them - snuggled up to a 30-pack with good friends watching Real World.
Corey Griffin
Asst. Sports Editor
It's in the name
Shame and despair are not two qualities that are often associated with most people's Valentine's Day, but are very prevalent to myself. Unlike the vast majority of the population, I have the honor of having "Valentine" as my middle name.
My misfortune started when I was in elementary school in first grade when someone asked me what the "V" stood for in my name. When I answered, I soon became the joke of the class. Over time, my Valentine's Days were filled with juvenile teasing that got to me as a child, to a point that I was often allowed to stay home from school on this day.
When middle school came, I realized that the adolescents I was around would tear me to shreds if they ever found out my middle name. So for those three years, I lived in a state of denial and whenever the issue came about I would not say or just lie about what it really was.
But as I reached high school, things changed. I felt stupid for living my life in this matter. It was time to quit running away from myself and embrace my true identity. Talking with my family, I came to know that I was named after my great-grandfather Valentine Jarka who was the most important male figure in my father's life.
So when someone made fun of me for this during my freshman year, instead of burying my head and walking away, I stood up for myself and said, "Yes, my middle name is Valentine and I'm damn proud of it!"
A big waste of time
As Valentine's Day rolls in, I will not be thinking about my significant other, worrying about what to get him or what to do during this "special day" as many other people will be doing.
It's so regrettable that I will not waste money on a gift and candlelit dinner for my non-existent boyfriend. It's even more regrettable that I won't be moping over how I don't have a valentine.
Today is a big waste of my time. Instead I much rather focus on a greater and more special holiday: Lunar New Year.
Why is it better than Valentine's Day? Lunar New Year is the time when family and friends gather together to rejoice of the new year (based on the lunar calendar). It places emphasis on traditions, family values, good fortune and delicious food.
It is also a holiday when unmarried people receive red envelopes with cash from married couples, rivaling Valentine's Day, which induces irrational spending. It can't get any better for a single girl! Sorry to say for everyone else, you just have to put up with all the fluff.
David Valentine Jarka
Sports Editor
Silas, martyr
I've always associated the holiday with the martyrdom of St. Valentine. Not to suggest the day of love hasn't been good to me, but much like a martyr I accept pain and suffering with the positives.
It's all very Zen.
One of my first major makeout sessions was with a girl I met through my mother- our parents were dating. I wasn't old enough to see that the folks were getting along great, and I was too na??ve to even really understand why all of this was such a bad idea.
After our parents got married and I realized I'd gotten to first base with my sister, I had a lot of thinking to do.
I decided that my shame and discomfort was the cost of having gotten as much action as I did. From that moment on, I was definitely never kissing a girl again.
Was it worth it, to a martyr? Let's put it this way: she may be my sister, but at least I had a valentine.
Silas Rader
Senior Managing Editor
'Shut up and buy the bear'
Most people surround themselves with a level of drama I couldn't ever surpass, and refuse to concede to. Ask any of my friends, I just don't listen to it.
Valentine's Day however, is upon us, and all hell has broken loose, ensuing unavoidable drama. What surprises me about this is that the men in my life are the cause of such drama - the gender we all too commonly refer to as the uncaring and oblivious. I find myself surrounded by men obsessed with taking a cynical viewpoint on the day, refusing to just give in and pacify their girlfriends by buying a stupid teddy bear.
Why is this gesture such a big deal?
My Valentine's Day trumps all. A lack of romance was made up for by my then-boyfriend getting arrested at 6 a.m. I would have been happy with flowers.
What many men lack in Valentine's Day spunk, most women make up for in their over analytical natures. With this in mind, I encourage men everywhere to take my advice and just give in.
As silly or commercialized as it might seem to you, it might not be to her. Minimal effort can make a big difference in your relationship, something you should care about much more than taking a stand against St. Valentine. This day is once a year. Shut up and buy the bear.
Stephanie Sciandra
Asst. Arts and Life Editor
