Valentine’s Day is a polarizing day. For those in relationships, it is an excuse to have fun with your significant other and to show your appreciation for them. For those who are not in relationships, the day is often sad and filled with memories that people would rather keep buried. 

Ben Gallagher’s feelings regarding the holiday are aligned with the latter. While he sees the positives of Valentine’s Day, he also sees it as excessive and frivolous. 

Ben Gallagher (‘25) said, “I think it’s a fine holiday, overhyped, but I think people waste way too much money on it. We watched a video about the history of Valentine’s Day in APUSH and people in the US waste nearly 28.5  billion dollars a year on Valentine’s. It’s ridiculous.”

He would rather spend time with his family on Valentine’s than with anyone else because he knows he will have the same family in the years to come but possibly not the same girl. He wants to make all the time he has with his family count before he goes to college and does not see any point in wasting time and money on a “Hallmark Holiday.”

For the past few years, Ava Jordan (‘24) has spent her holiday in the place she loves most doing what she loves most, cheerleading. 

Cheersport, one of the region’s biggest cheer competitions, happens annually in Atlanta, Georgia, around the weekend of Valentine’s Day so every Valentine’s Day she would spend it in a giant convention center surrounded by people who all share the same love for cheer. 

“Cheer is my valentine,” Ava Jordan said when asked what her big Valentine’s plans were. 

She prefers it more than getting flowers or chocolates from boys. She would rather get a Cheersport ring and jacket. 

And as for emotions and feelings, she would rather stress backstage during warmups, huddle up five minutes before performing and then perform with her favorite friends then, almost anything else.

Senior, Noah Roberson (‘24) has never really taken Valentine’s Day seriously with the exception of a few specific years. He will never forget the torture that he and many others experienced during the elementary school years. 

The experience of making valentines for people in class against his will was brutal.

“The worst part about Valentine’s Day growing up was always making the valentines that I couldn’t care less about,” Noah Roberson said. “I don’t know if other schools did the same thing but at CSD up until 5th grade you had to make valentines every year for everyone in your class.” 

Some years students were asked to write poems, other years they had to write small messages. No matter what the requirements were, as a kid Noah Roberson never put a smile on his face during the entire week of Valentine’s Day. 

While has been a lot less hostile about Valentine’s Day since the activity ended after middle school, he still does not get excited about it. 

Freshman, Isabel Sands (‘27) is also fairly indifferent.

“I’ve never really had anything interesting happen to me on Valentine’s Day,” Isabel Sands said.

She does remember writing poems and handing them out to her classmates in elementary school. And she recalls that decorating the slots that the poems went in were always her favorite part of the holiday. 

When it comes to Valentine’s Day experiences for Conner Shelton (‘25), he thinks about the special partner who constantly is there for him. Her name is Barbella. 

Conner and Barbella’s relationship goes way back to when he was 13 years old. Walking into the gym for the first time, Conner was clueless that he was about to meet the new love of his life. When he got inside the gym there she was, shining in the corner of the weight room. 

Conner knew she was meant for him. She was unlike anything else Conner had ever seen. Her smooth middle and rough edges were just what he was looking for in a partner.

But it was her personality that stood out the most. It was what set her apart from others.

Conner Shelton said, “She’s always there for me, no matter how rough of a day I am having or what I am going through she finds a way to cheer me up. Whether it’s deadlifts, squats, or shoulder presses, she will always find a way to cheer you up.”

Sometimes finding a partner in life is not as much about how pretty someone is but more about the personality that one possesses. 

Over the years Conner and Barbella’s relationship has grown tremendously. As Conner puts on weight, Barbella does the same to always soothe Conner’s needs. 

Conner and Barbella seem to have the forever-bond attached to each other. Their relationship is one they both know will last forever.

Callie Hobbs (‘25) remembers opening her middle school locker on a meaningful Valentine’s Day and finding a small structure in it, lots of mini popsicle sticks glued together at the center with the ends fanned outward.

The whole thing was painted pink and ‘Happy Valentine’s Day’ was written in a red marker across the top popsicle stick.  

She searched all over the little gift but couldn’t find any clues as to the identity of the giver. She ended up not showing or asking anyone and kept it to herself.

“I feel like I remember being weirded out by it, but now I see I should’ve been grateful,” said Callie Hobbs (‘25). “Someone was thinking of me and spent time hand-making a craft for me. Keeping it anonymous and discreet also made it feel more genuine, no name, no drama, not for show.”

The day was no more eventful than any other Valentine’s Day. There was no big show of confessing feelings or being asked out like the holiday is portrayed in movies, but it certainly was more meaningful even if she never learned the giver’s  identity.

Evan Mulligan (‘26) believes Valentine’s Day is what you make of it. He is not a particularly romantic person so Valentine’s Day was never an important holiday to him.

Evan usually just eats heart-shaped candy but this Valentine’s Day was different. This year Evan got sushi for lunch.

“I don’t know why I did. I just decided to because I had nothing better to do,” Evan said.

What kind of sushi did he choose?

Evan ate a spicy tuna roll, which he described as very good.

This story is a reminder to everyone that if you cannot have love then you can at least have sushi.

From cheerleading and making personal middle school valentines to lifting weights, keeping to yourself and even eating sushi, Valentine’s Day is not about love and romance in a traditional sense. It’s not about the candy either.