The day of love has passed us by and has yet again made me reminisce on a life I once lived. Valentine’s Day has lost its loveable qualities. If you have a significant other, the day is spent with romantic surprises, gifts, and treats. If you find yourself single on this holiday, partying with friends, or even just counting down the seconds to February 15th when the heartbreak sets in and the chocolate is half off. As I have said many times before, getting old sucks. Being a child filled the world with wonderment and excitement, and when it came to  Valentine’s Day, it was just better. 

The first event when it came to Valentine’s Day was picking out the perfect Valentines to give out to your class. Did you really grow up in the Midwest if you did not have a Valentine’s Day party in elementary school? And then if that party did not star the couple that has been together since kindergarten getting into a public argument, what was the point? Growing up, my favorite Valentines to give and receive were the Fun Dip candygrams. My mother rarely let me get this for the class because they were “poison,” but I still love some Fun Dip.  

The other feat we faced when getting ready for the big party was designing our Valentines box. I thoroughly enjoyed this and missed it. Most of the time, parents would dig out an old shoe box from the back of their closet and begrudgingly let us cut a slit in the top for kids to put cards into. We were able to color, paint, and put stickers all over the box, and it represented how creative we could be back in the day. Going around the class with your Valentines in hand, and putting the special note to your crush in their box will forever hold an unexplainable rush.  

Instead of handing out Valentines, and gorging myself on sugary candy, I find myself missing the day completely. Classes have been keeping me busy and stressed, work has piled down, and the weather is hot and cold (literally). It is easy to let Valentine’s Day fly by without doing anything for yourself or others, but treating yourself to a spa day, or taking a friend out for lunch, can bring you back to the times of love and Valentine’s Day parties. 

Claire Arneson is a Dakota Student Section Editor. She can be reached at [email protected].