Aggie’s rethink Valentine’s Day
Some Aggies find Valentine’s Day is overhyped. Utah State University sophomore Kamae Orton said no matter what situation you are in, Valentine’s Day is bound to cause you stress.
“Not only do people who have a significant other get stressed about what gifts to buy and where to make dinner reservations,” Orton said, “but single people also feel lonely that they don’t have someone to spend the day with.”
Because of this, if Orton had the power to change Valentine’s Day, she said she would make it a day to simply celebrate those who you love.
“Which I think was the original purpose of the day,” Orton said.
One story to explain the original purpose of the day relates back to a feast honoring a Saint Valentine. Legend says when marriage was outlawed for soldiers at the time, he performed secret marriages for young lovers.
Throughout the years — like most other holidays — the day of love has become widely commercialized.
USU sophomore Whitney Boden loves to celebrate Valentine’s Day by watching chick flicks with a group of her girl friends.
“We are all going to dress up fancy and make dinner and a cake together,” Boden said.
For many girls, including Boden, it can be a day to celebrate the power of being single and loving yourself.
USU sophomore Cole Lancaster said companies profit quite a bit off the day.
“I always see all these ads encompassing what true love is,” Lancaster said. “And it’s really hard to be in the LGBTQ community on Valentine’s Day, especially when you live in rural Utah.”
Though it has been hard in the past, Lancaster has found a new way to look at the day.
“It’s the perfect day to celebrate your support systems, your friends and other people you have in your life that you love,” Lancaster said.
This year, Lancaster is celebrating the love in his life by bringing one of his friends to dinner.
In previous years, he has made chocolate-covered strawberries for his friends and support.
“You can do little acts of kindness for your friends to just show them that you care and reaffirm that they are an important factor in your life,” Lancaster said.
Lancaster has started using Valentine’s Day to thank those he appreciates for being in his life. He also said there should be more education surrounding the day.
“We should promote the idea that it’s normal and OK to be alone on Valentine’s Day,” Lancaster said.
Lancaster would like to see more advertising including more same-sex, non-binary and non-cisgendered couples.
“Everyone should be able to love who they want to love,” Lancaster said. “The broader message of the day should be love is love.”