How teens feel about Valentine‘s Day

Digital artwork by Maria Spada

Valentines Day themed artwork by Maria Spada.

Madison Samber, Writer

Valentines Day: a holiday that only matters if you’re not single. Do teens think Valentine’s Day is overrated or is it exciting? To a lot of teens, Valentine’s Day is just an idea that you need to be in a relationship to celebrate. 

     According to Time , teenagers are the “most miserable group” of people on Valentine’s Day. 

     The pressure teens feel around Valentine’s Day is unmatched. Every girl is wanting flowers and a nice dinner, and every boy is stressing on how to make the holiday nice for their significant other. But if someone doesn‘t have a significant other, what do they do? 

     “I‘ll be celebrating Galentines,” said sophomore Olivia Ivory. “Spending the day with friends takes a lot of pressure off needing a date.”

    Not every teen has that opinion though. 

     “I don‘t like Valentine‘s Day,” said sophomore Maria Janiga. “I think it’s an overrated holiday that people spend too much money on.” 

     Janiga isn‘t the only one who feels like this. 

     “I feel like it‘s too commercialized,” said junior Liz Long. 

     A lot of teens feel like this. The pressure of Valentine‘s Day comes from the idea that you need to have a date to show off. According to these teens, Valentine‘s day isn‘t that meaningful to them. Although the idea of the holiday has a good meaning, a lot of teens don‘t care about it. 

    But there are also teens that love the holiday. 

     “It is underrated, Valentine’s Day is my all time favorite holiday,” said Junior Kaelyn Ripani. 

     Valentine’s Day is also a good time to make memories. 

    “It’s a nice day to recognize love, and appreciate people,” said senior Nicole Tougher. “Last year for Valentine’s Day, my boyfriend got someone to draw a picture of us and the picture the artist recreated and drew is one of my favorite pictures of us and I still have it in a frame next to my bed.” 

     Valentine’s Day doesn’t just have to be a time to just gush over your significant other, families and friends can all gather together to share the love they feel for each other to create unforgettable Valentine’s Day memories. ““Every Valentine’s Day my family always uses our formal dining room and we have a nice formal dinner and my parents always buy us a few small gifts,” said senior Lizzy Nicholson. “A few years back I opened up my gift from my parents and they got me and my older brother tickets to go see Phantom Of the Opera on opening night and when I saw it I started to get teary eyed.”

     After these teens shared their opinions, it‘s clear not everyone feels the same about Valentine’s Day. Some teens hate, some love it, and some teens don‘t care at all.

      “I think Valentine’s Day is something that people can decide for themselves whether they want it to be a part of their life,” said senior Robbie Burns. “Some people might decide to do some kind of big celebration and some might decide to just pretend it’s a normal day.”