When we were little, we sat at our desks writing the names of each and every classmate in our fourth-grade class on a valentine. On Valentine’s Day, we would stuff each other’s bags and boxes full of cards, candies and treats and spend the day laughing and running, fueled by our sugar rushes.
In high school, we spent Valentine’s Day babysitting our siblings while the “rents” went out, attempting to slip a card into our valentine’s locker or avoiding the holiday altogether, terrified of the plausible humiliation of being rejected by our crushes.
Now that we’re in college, how do we spend Valentine’s Day?
While working backstage during the Department of Theatre’s presentation of “Happy Holy Days,” a play based on religion and holidays, a fellow theatre major asked me what my favorite holiday was.
I replied, “Christmas,” and repeated the same question back to her.
“Valentine’s Day,” she said. “It’s the one day people remember to say, ‘I love you.’”
What an absolutely beautiful statement.
At that moment, I began to realize not everyone views this holiday in the same way, so I took a look at the different ways we can interpret Valentine’s Day.
Now that we’re older, we can grasp a basic idea of love, whether from personal experience or from watching the heartbreaking movie “P.S. I Love You.” We can choose the best way to celebrate. When it comes to Valentine’s Day, there are three types of people: the cynics, the hopefuls and the believers.
The cynics are part of the group that coined the term Hallmark Holiday, implying that holidays are an excuse for greeting-card companies to make a quick buck.
The cynics are the ones complaining about the mushy-gushy demeanors of the couples on the street and making vomiting gestures and rolling their eyes.
Either a cynic has suffered a horrible experience on Valentine’s Day in his or her past or the cynic usually rejects love before love can reject him or her.
Often laughing at the idea of a romance-based holiday, these individuals skip restaurant reservations and ordering Chinese takeout.
Next we have the hopefuls. Usually valentineless, these are the people spending the holiday sitting on the couch in pajamas and flipping through the channels from one romantic comedy to the next, while munching on a self-bought box of chocolates.
Swooning at the beautiful celebrities and romantic stories, the hopefuls dwell on the happiness of the characters in the movies as they bite into their sixth or seventh cherry cordial.
But these individuals are called hopefuls for a reason. This group often spends the evening of Valentine’s Day with a group of the same gender and make plans to head out to bars or clubs in hopes to meet that special someone on this special holiday.
Finally, we have the believers. These are the people who have been rooting for Valentine’s Day since day one. The believers are always the people who seem to have a special someone come Feb. 14 and thrive on the idea “Go big, or go home!”
The prime targets of all florists nationwide, these individuals don’t need Google to figure out the most creative and romantic ways to woo their sweethearts.
From heart-shaped doilies to massive amounts of glitter all the way to life-sized cupid figurines, the believers don’t mess around.
My personal opinion? I love Valentine’s Day. One year, I spent the evening working at a local fish restaurant without a valentine. And another year, I spent the day crashing my parents’ date at Big Boy.
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This year I plan to spend it with a really special someone, who is probably reading this column right now. It all depends on how you look at the holiday. Whether or not you believe in the traditions and customs, we can all agree the impact of a simple “I love you” can go a long way.
Try putting your judgements aside. Get out there and tell someone you love them — everyone deserves to hear it at least once a year.
Kellie Rowe is a State News staff writer. Reach her at rowekell@msu.edu.
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