Remember way back in the day when we were kids- We used to cut hearts out of construction paper, write silly little love notes and give out Valentine cards and candies to all our friends classmates? The good old days, when no one was left out or lonely on Valentine’s Day. Things have changed since then.
“When we were little it was about friends, but now it’s more about relationships,” says HHS senior Yelena Guseva.
Candy and hearts used to be the only thing that mattered. It wasn’t about boyfriends or girlfriends, or relationships and romance. Boys and girls had “cooties,” but candy was candy and friendship was reason enough to celebrate.
Now what used to be cute and thoughtful is considered “cheesy.” We grow out of our innocence the older we get. Candy gives way to bigger and better gifts: Heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, red roses, jewelry, stuffed animals, balloons, cards, fancy dinners—Now handmade stuff is “cheap.”
The expectations get bigger the older we get. “We become more romantic and put our feelings into it. Some people aren’t as satisfied with just candy as we used to when we were little,” says HHS’s Zhanna Antosenka. The stakes get high for this one particular day we’ve chosen to celebrate love.
V-day grows up with us—it means more the older we get.
No more cooties.
Written by Nadezhda Simakov
Image by Jessi Proulx