Smoochie-smoochie—Valentine’s Day a mixed bag for lovers
February 14th, 2012 Posted in Arts and LifeLOGAN—Love is in the air—or maybe not. As Valentine’s Day dawns, unpaired people begin to feel the despair of spending the romantic holiday alone. Even for those with significant others, the holiday can be a hit-or-miss. Expectations are high for the Day of True Love, and many couples feel pressure to succeed at affection.
Rachel Johnson, who lives in Layton, thinks it is a dumb day and that love should be celebrated every day. On the other hand, Johnson thinks it is a cool day in some ways, because St. Valentine risked his life to help people fall in love.
For Carlson Boquist, a senior at Virginia Tech, the holiday is a bit forced. “It’s a Hallmark holiday invented for corporate gain while shamelessly targeting a specific group of people easily conned into celebrating,” he said.
Indeed, some economic analysts say Americans will spend $19.8 billion (yes, with a B) this year on Valentine’s Day—$131.75 per person to show how much you love your sweetie.
Boquist does have a girlfriend and says they will celebrate today, but he said they probably wouldn’t have gone out to dinner if it weren’t for the holiday.
The holiday can be depressing, he said. “I don’t know how many bitter Facebook statuses I’ve seen. It sounds like a day that can be good for some, but crappy for more people.”
Even so, the holiday is an excuse for some serious romantic time, and many lovebirds plan ahead.
USU senior Ryan Baylis, a broadcast journalism major and ASUSU athletics VP, said he’ll spend today with his girlfriend, Kendra. “I bought tickets for her birthday back in September,” he said. The couple will go to a Mutemath concert in Salt Lake City tonight.
“I’m not into all the sappy stuff,” Baylis said, ”but I do love that we are doing something that we both enjoy and just hang out together.”
For some, the holiday can bring up a lot of memories.
Exercise science major Mike Rees got his first kiss at his high school junior Valentine’s Day dance. After a playful snowball fight, he and his girlfriend cuddled in the doorway as it snowed.
“I was like, what if I kissed you right now? And she was like, well I’d probably let you. And I was like—Bam!—and totally kissed her,” he said. “It was a total beginner kiss because it was both of our first kisses, but I was on top of the world.”
After the epic kiss, the couple went inside and danced to “Listen to Your Heart” by DHT. The song became “their song” immediately.
Despite that romantic holiday high point, Rees thinks Valentine’s Day is high-stakes, and can often be a letdown if it doesn’t live up to your expectations.
“It’s awesome if it’s done right, but it’s easy to get down on yourself because you don’t have a significant other, or your significant other doesn’t appreciate it as much as you would like him or her to,” he said.
English lit major Kate Marshall says Valentine’s Day is like all the other holidays. “It’s focused on consumerism and showing your love through gifts,” she said.
For Marshall, the most annoying thing about Valentine’s Day is having to listen to everyone complain about it.
“I guess it makes some insecure single people feel bad for some reason,” she said, “mostly for reasons I don’t understand.” But she does think it’s nice that romantic love gets celebrated—“although I think it’s more romantic to bestow love through gifts on a non-required day,” she said.
Megan Allen, a senior in journalism, said she hates the holiday, but not just because she is single. “I think it makes it all forced and fake. Pick another day to surprise me and shower me with love,” she said.
With all the talk of romance and relationships, Claire Utley, a junior in psychology, remains focused on another aspect of Valentine’s Day: “I like heart shaped candy and all things pink,” she said.
For Weipan Le, the holiday forces men to celebrate love, but he’s still celebrating with his wife. He plans to do small cute things throughout the day instead of one big event.
“I’m going to make bacon muffins for me and wifey,” he said. “That’s right, bacon.”
TP
Tags: love, Valentine’s Day
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