As drug stores overflow with heart-shaped chocolate candies and stuffed bears, and shades of red and pink tint the supermarkets, Valentine’s Day makes its presence known.
With the amorous holiday just a day away, some students like Miranda Penick, sophomore interdisciplinary studies major, say they don’t find the holiday to be a crucial or important one.
“I don’t think it’s necessary to have just one day where people are like, ‘I love you, but today is really the day that I express my love,'” Penick said.
While Penick said she has never been in a serious relationship, she said she understands the holiday can be sweet if spent with a significant other and if the holiday celebration maintains originality and authenticity.
Penick said she will spend her Valentine’s Day with several of her friends at the Passion Conference in Houston, a Christian conference for university students from around the world.
“I’m a deeply devout Christian and it’s really cool that I can be able to spend that time with people that I really care about,” Penick said.
David Heath, sophomore geophysics major, said he finds Valentine’s Day to be an overrated and commercialized holiday.
Heath, without a Valentine to celebrate with, poked fun at the hype of the holiday and himself as he shared his Friday plans.
“This Valentine’s Day I will snuggle up by myself with some mint chocolate chip ice cream and maybe watch ‘The Notebook,'” Heath said.
Tanner Seberger, freshman ocean engineering major, also made light of his plans on the holiday, which he said is over-analyzed by those who are single.
“I’m going to take myself to Olive Garden, sit in a booth alone – probably facing a wall,” Seberger said. “I will treat myself to a gourmet dinner and then go home and watch ‘Safe Haven.’ Best movie ever.”
Allison Booth, sophomore history and sociology double major, and Mary Godwin, sophomore philosophy and mathematics double major, said too much attention is given to the holiday in general – either too much love or too much hate.
“I think it’s less important than a lot of people make it, both in that some people make too big of a deal out of celebrating it and a lot of people make a big deal out of hating it,” Godwin said. “It’s an excellent opportunity if you want to do something nice. I don’t think people need to make too big a deal out of hating it.”
Godwin said she is currently in a relationship but said she and her boyfriend do not have plans for Friday. She said if they do celebrate, it would be something low key and impromptu.
Booth said she didn’t think the holiday should be taken personally.
“I feel like it’s a good opportunity if you want to celebrate someone else, but if you aren’t dating anyone and have no reason to celebrate, I’ve seen people almost take it as a personal offense to their character. A lot of people think, ‘I have no one to celebrate with so I should be miserable,'” Booth said.
Booth said one’s outlook on the event can shape their holiday experience for better or worse.
“It depends on your perspective,” Booth said. “If you have a perspective of wanting to fit in to the social mold we’ve created for Valentine’s Day, then you’ll probably be disappointed.”
Booth said she is currently single, but that she has chosen to redirect a lack of romantic love toward her friends and others who need love. Booth said she plans to spend her Valentine’s Day and the remainder of the weekend spending time with friends working at a ministry camp for the homeless.
“It’s really neat, we work with middle schoolers and high schoolers and just serve those who are impoverished in the San Antonio and Austin areas,” Booth said.
For Booth, working this camp is a way for her to show a kind of love not often associated with Valentine’s Day.
“I think that love has a lot of different forms and motivations,” Booth said. “One of those forms is showing love to a significant other, another form of that could be showing love to those who don’t receive love very often.”