Ah, Valentine’s day. Chocolates are selling out, and flowers are gone. Love is in the air! But not for everyone… Let’s see what some OSA students thought about Valentine’s Day. While some loved the holiday, others felt it needed to be stopped.
-Hazel phillips
Ah, Valentine’s day. Chocolates are selling out, and flowers are gone. Love is in the air! But not for everyone… let’s see what some OSA students thought about Valentine’s Day. While some loved the holiday, others felt it needed to be stopped.
I asked them how Valentine's Day affects them, and I got an array of answers. “I don't like it in general,” confessed sixth grader, Milo Trejo. “Valentine's Day is, which is weird considering my current relationship status, a superficial way to reinforce the stereotype that all people should be in relationships,” stated fellow sixth grader, Joaquin Montes de Oca. “Nothing really, except for perhaps getting a little hyper from all the candy I eat…” reflected seventh-grade student, Grace Triantafyllos.
Everybody has different opinions, especially on something so controversial as Valentines Day. So, what are their opinions of the actual gifts? “Well, in my old school we weren't allowed to give cards or candy, so this is a fun new experience. If I can stay away from the romantic part I’m great,” Declan McMahon, a sixth-grader, replied with enthusiasm. Triantafyllos agreed, saying, “It’s a fun way to express love to friends and family.”
“I mean cards are weird, free candy? Yes please!” Trejo said.
Even the positive people so far had something to say when I asked what they didn't like about the holiday… McMahon and Montes de Oca both complained that it was, “Too exclusive to some individuals, and there was too much drama when ‘OMG!!! He gave you a ROSE!!!’”
Trejo just had one thing to say, “The whole thing is unnecessary.” While Triantafyllos commented, “It’s a little bit of pressure if you don't get a gift like ‘Oh, I'm not as valid...’ but that's not true!”
Then, when asked what they did like, they again all had a lot to say, “Free food. Food, great, love it.” Triantafyllos and Trejo agreed. “You get to show appreciation for others.”, McMahon and Montes de Oca felt, “It's the thought that counts.”
How does Valentine's Day affect couples?
“It's stressful… it's like ‘oh no, what do I get them? Will it be weird to get something? Will it be weird not to get something, oh god!’...it's a whole thing.” Montes de Oca sighed. Trejo agreed, adding, “It’s kinda toxic [to couples]…” When asked, what about singles? “It's a lot of pressure, like it might make people feel like they need a relationship, but you don’t need that in your life if you don’t want to, know what mean?” Triantafyllos offered, totally chill with her position as a single. “I don’t like how some people if they are single they think ‘Oh nobody loves me, nobody ever will…’” McMahon added. “Singles should get roped in some how, whether it be by friends or others.”
“What would you get your Valentine?” I asked as my last question. While one person decided to opt out of this question, I got answers from all the other people I asked. McMahon gave a very sweet reply of, “I guess I would spend a bunch of time on a handmade card, and give a bunch of handmade gifts and buy some sweets that were his/her/their favorites…” And yes, he is single!
Anyhoo, Montes de Oca gave a very… urm… interesting answer. “Hypothetically, I would have pre-bought a giant Butterfinger which I would have noticed was his favorite chocolate bar, known his locker combo and snuck in after school and put it in his locker with a note that said, ‘Happy V-day, Love Joaquin’. I would then have had Cleo help organize his messy locker and sprinkle pom poms around the gift, hypothetically,” he said, quickly adding in the "hypotheticals", totally hypothetically.
Triantafyllos thought for a second, then replied, “Food. Obviously. But it would also be cute to give them a little personalized gift I suppose.”
Honestly, in my opinion, food is always the best way to go… well,that's all for this article. Hope you got an idea or two out of this and thanks for reading!
I asked them how Valentine's Day affects them, and I got an array of answers. “I don't like it in general,” confessed sixth grader, Milo Trejo. “Valentine's Day is, which is weird considering my current relationship status, a superficial way to reinforce the stereotype that all people should be in relationships,” stated fellow sixth grader, Joaquin Montes de Oca. “Nothing really, except for perhaps getting a little hyper from all the candy I eat…” reflected seventh-grade student, Grace Triantafyllos.
Everybody has different opinions, especially on something so controversial as Valentines Day. So, what are their opinions of the actual gifts? “Well, in my old school we weren't allowed to give cards or candy, so this is a fun new experience. If I can stay away from the romantic part I’m great,” Declan McMahon, a sixth-grader, replied with enthusiasm. Triantafyllos agreed, saying, “It’s a fun way to express love to friends and family.”
“I mean cards are weird, free candy? Yes please!” Trejo said.
Even the positive people so far had something to say when I asked what they didn't like about the holiday… McMahon and Montes de Oca both complained that it was, “Too exclusive to some individuals, and there was too much drama when ‘OMG!!! He gave you a ROSE!!!’”
Trejo just had one thing to say, “The whole thing is unnecessary.” While Triantafyllos commented, “It’s a little bit of pressure if you don't get a gift like ‘Oh, I'm not as valid...’ but that's not true!”
Then, when asked what they did like, they again all had a lot to say, “Free food. Food, great, love it.” Triantafyllos and Trejo agreed. “You get to show appreciation for others.”, McMahon and Montes de Oca felt, “It's the thought that counts.”
How does Valentine's Day affect couples?
“It's stressful… it's like ‘oh no, what do I get them? Will it be weird to get something? Will it be weird not to get something, oh god!’...it's a whole thing.” Montes de Oca sighed. Trejo agreed, adding, “It’s kinda toxic [to couples]…” When asked, what about singles? “It's a lot of pressure, like it might make people feel like they need a relationship, but you don’t need that in your life if you don’t want to, know what mean?” Triantafyllos offered, totally chill with her position as a single. “I don’t like how some people if they are single they think ‘Oh nobody loves me, nobody ever will…’” McMahon added. “Singles should get roped in some how, whether it be by friends or others.”
“What would you get your Valentine?” I asked as my last question. While one person decided to opt out of this question, I got answers from all the other people I asked. McMahon gave a very sweet reply of, “I guess I would spend a bunch of time on a handmade card, and give a bunch of handmade gifts and buy some sweets that were his/her/their favorites…” And yes, he is single!
Anyhoo, Montes de Oca gave a very… urm… interesting answer. “Hypothetically, I would have pre-bought a giant Butterfinger which I would have noticed was his favorite chocolate bar, known his locker combo and snuck in after school and put it in his locker with a note that said, ‘Happy V-day, Love Joaquin’. I would then have had Cleo help organize his messy locker and sprinkle pom poms around the gift, hypothetically,” he said, quickly adding in the "hypotheticals", totally hypothetically.
Triantafyllos thought for a second, then replied, “Food. Obviously. But it would also be cute to give them a little personalized gift I suppose.”
Honestly, in my opinion, food is always the best way to go… well,that's all for this article. Hope you got an idea or two out of this and thanks for reading!
