Teenagers can have some very differing and pessimistic takes on Valentine’s Day that are very hyperbolic. Exaggerations like these are pretty funny to listen to if your opinion on it is indifferent.
Valentine’s Day is a pretty controversial holiday because of its obscure origins, and its emphasis on loving and caring for a significant other. It can either cause jealousy and envy within a person, or thoughtfulness for others and their lover within a person. It really comes down to whether somebody is satisfied with and grateful for their current relationships (including friendships and family).
I started off with a pretty rational take from Elias Fischer, “[Valentine’s Day] is a holiday you show your love, why not show your love every other day?” It’s one of the first things a skeptic of the holiday thinks. Almost every other holiday has a reason to be celebrated, like the 4th of July for winning the war of Independence. But February 14th has no significance to wanting to love more. Even December 25th has a reason for wanting to give more. You should just love as much as you can at all times. Elias went on to explain that “the day before Valentine’s Day is the day where most people break up,” showing that it’s more of a checkpoint to a relationship than a day to show your love.
Cesar Hernandez explained that “[Valentine’s Day] has obscure origins…that are wacky,” that nowadays “is boiled down to flowers for someone you love, or at least try.” His take showed me that no one really knows where Valentine’s originated, but they follow the tradition because it helps them feel emphasize their love for and connection to others. This makes everyone feel happier except for those without a connection or those who are isolating themselves out of jealousy. Those who isolate themselves need to take Cesar’s advice and “at least try.” Perhaps this could apply to Carlos Calderon-Perez who had this to say about the holiday, “I hate it.”
Cesar Hernandez went on to say that he “doesn’t like the capitalistic side of the holiday” because things could be replaced with cheaper substitutes. It also brings up the point that the holiday shouldn’t be about the price of the gift to your significant other, but instead, the amount of thought and love put into the gift. Sorendyn Vandekieft disagreed with Cesar’s take on capitalism, and argued “Flowers!” Presumably telling Cesar that flowers/money are more important than the thought of a gift.
Others have a very conflicting opinion of the holiday, like Fernando Volquez, who stated that “Valentine’s Day is a lame excuse to find a way to pick up a girl,” whilst also being “the most romantic holiday in the school year.” I don’t know how it could be for one-night stands and lasting relationships at the same time, but maybe he’s saying that the goal of the holiday depends on the person’s “goals” in their love life.
Gage Behrenbrinker’s opinion on the holiday is probably the most optimistic and suitable for those wanting to find a significant other for next year’s V-Day. He explicated, “It’s a pretty happy day for many couples I would presume, and maybe some motivation for those who aren’t in a relationship.” It was refreshing to see that some people who were not in a relationship had the optimism to not sink into their depressive thoughts, but instead motivate themselves to become more socially adept and work on their personal appearance.
Where Gage’s opinion is optimistic, Wyatt is indifferent despite them both still being in the “mingling” phase. Wyatt Hall would find V-Day “more special if [he] was in a relationship, but [he’s], so [he] really doesn’t care honestly.” This could potentially be because Gage has been in a relationship before, so he’s already proved to himself that motivation can get what you want.
Regan Mead labeled the holiday as “cheesy,” and explained that “It seems way more overhyped than it really is.” The sentiment went back to what Elias said, in that the celebration of the holiday is blown out of proportion, when we should just be showing love to one another as much as we can.
From the opinions I gathered, Valentine’s Day is important to those that have connections to show their love to. And it’s unimportant or even discouraging to people without connections because it emphasizes the feeling of loneliness if that person becomes jealous of other people’s connections.