It goes like this: if you’re in a relationship, your delight is nauseating. But, if you’re single and make light of the holiday, you’re bitter and lonely.
There’s no real winner here.
Back in elementary school, Valentine’s Day meant receiving personalized cards from every student in the class and wearing pink and red head-to-toe. It meant drugstore aisles devoted to candy hearts and heart-shaped boxes of chocolate, to teddy bears and plush cartoon animals holding signs that read “I love you.”
However, in high school, Valentine’s Day is nothing of the sort.
While those in relationships generally participate in its traditions, the rest of the teenage population has mixed views on the holiday.
Abby Merlis ‘15 agrees that Valentine’s Day was treated as a much more an important occasion in elementary school.
“Now it’s more or less a normal school day,” Merlis said.
Similarly, Renee Reiner ‘15 enjoys the gift-exchange part of Valentine’s Day, but points out that students find the holiday more exciting if they have a significant other to share it with.
“I don’t really have any special plans for Valentine’s Day. I think I’m going to hang out with some friends, watch movies, and cry about being single,” Reiner joked.
Other students, however, choose to unleash their distaste for the holiday via social media.
All throughout the week, and especially the morning of, a plethora of “forever alone” jokes invade Twitter feeds and Tumblr dashboards, some unfortunately even finding their way onto Facebook and Instagram.
What would Valentine’s Day be without the tiresome “forever alone with 72 cats” comments and inevitable food jokes showcasing our good pals Ben and Jerry? Not to mention the indifferent “Isn’t-it-just-Friday” remarks and “Who-needs-love-when-you-have-Netflix” assertions.
It’s as though once a year, every February 14th, single high school students both celebrate and deprecate their aloneness. Valentine’s Day has become National Single Awareness Day during which students judge those in relationships, and those in relationships judge those who are not.
And while I don’t plan to take the cynical approach this Valentine’s Day, I’m certainly dreading to hear the phrase “forever alone” dropped in every conversation and twitter hashtag.
So, as they say: roses are red, violets are blue. I’m not excited for Valentine’s Day—how about you?
