Let me count the ways
Different types of love and how they choose to celebrate Valentine's Day
Design by Banee Chadha
Noah Daklouche, News Editor, Banee Chadha, Photography Editor, & Ansh Vigh, Staff Writer
Love is everywhere, even in the places one may not suspect. With Valentine's Day coming up, this is more prevalent than ever. Couples are making surprise plans for one another, and siblings are buying each other gifts or gearing up to watch their favorite movies while eating treats for a self-care day on Feb. 14. No matter how people show their love or spend their holidays, everyone experiences love differently. For high school students, Valentine's Day can be exciting—yet nerve-racking. Hallways fill with posters about buying roses and celebrators carry flowers and balloons, all as a reminder that this is the time of year to show others how you choose to love.
The most celebrated kind of love on Valentine's Day is romantic love, which is rare but special in high school. Whether it is a first relationship or an unspoken crush, romance is full of excitement and learning opportunities. Yet, with the effects of societal pressures and its social impact, any relationship can be hard to maintain. Although these relationships may come with challenges surrounding rumors and misinformation, they also serve as moments of clarity that improve the relationship rather than tarnish it. Experiencing new things with one another and raising questions in a relationship provides valuable lessons that will benefit the relationship in the future.
"At first, we just didn't know a lot of things, [about] how our relationship is supposed to work. Since then, we've learned to balance out school [and our personal lives]," senior Sasara Crowley said.
Romantic relationships that foster growth as a pair also create individual improvement as the two can help each other reach their goals, go through hard times, or serve as a shoulder to cry on when things get overwhelming. Through encouragement, partners can build confidence, resilience, and a stronger sense of self, ultimately creating personal growth as a couple.
"She's always pushing me to be a better person. If I'm doing something that I could improve on or not doing right, she's always helped in a very kind and supportive way," senior Saketh Pucha said.
Due to their relationship strengthening over time and their perseverance through the perils of being in high school, Crowley and Pucha can celebrate Valentine's Day together, creating traditions and looking forward to future plans. During even the most stressful times, they make time for one another, ensure communication, go on dates, and spend Valentine's Day with each other, ultimately making them a mature and happy couple.
Couples are not the only ones who can celebrate love and show their appreciation in February though, sisterly love is a strong bond that starts from birth. Sophomores Anvitha Battu and Aashritha Battu are twin sisters who make sure to show their love and support for one another in seemingly small ways beyond Feb.14.
"I think the way that I show my love to [Aashritha] is by trying to remember her small preferences. In the morning, I'll try to make breakfast for her in a way that she'll like. Or I'll try to get her lunch box for her if I know that we're going to be sitting together," Anvitha Battu said.
Their unbreakable bond not only affects the small aspects of their everyday lives but also their long-term growth as individuals. Being sisters, they are always together, at school and home, seeing one another through all of their highs and lows. They, more than anyone else, are the ones who can change each other for the better and improve themselves.
"[She has] really inspired me to be a better person in and of myself, because I've seen the way that she can make such a big positive impact on others, and that's something that I really strive to be," Aashritha Battu said.
On Valentine's Day, Anvitha Battu and Aashritha Battu do not forget to set aside time for each other to celebrate the season of love with the ones that they have grown up with and whom they love the most. By spending time together on holidays like this, these sisters acknowledge that Valentine’s Day does not just include romantic love, but also familial love.
"I wouldn't say Valentine's Day is a really big thing in our family. Our parents will go out to dinner, but for me, [Aashritha], and our older sister, we just spend the day together and make it like a Galentine's Day between the three of us," Anvitha Battu said.
Due to the stigma surrounding it, society rarely appreciates the value of a strong sibling relationship, despite it being a special and rare bond. Now, siblings tend to feel empowered to celebrate on Valentine's Day like any romantic relationship or friendship because family, uniquely, has no end.
"I feel like siblings have such a unique bond. It's such a unique relationship, not just twins, just siblings in general, because you can be the most different people, but still, love each other, just because you grew up together," Aashritha Battu said.
Like sisterly bonds, a love that isn't as talked about is self-love. While relationships and friendships are important, many forget how essential self-love is to their mental health, and whether you have friendships or relationships, self-love can improve either of them.
"If you don't treat yourself in the same way that you treat other people that you love, then you're communicating to yourself that you don't have the same value, that you don't have the same importance, that you're not worth that respect and kindness and care," English teacher Dr. Ashley Ulrich said.
Respecting and loving yourself creates value, respect, and positive impacts that affect your future relationships with others. When you do not practice self-love, you may find yourself working to please others. However, when you truly embrace who you are, you can be your most authentic self.
"[Without self-love,] you're going to act a certain way for other people. When you don't have to do that, you get to be genuinely who and what you want to be," Ulrich said.
Setting aside time to be yourself, and do the things you enjoy, is extremely important in an ever-changing world with social media and expectations everywhere, where anyone can voice their opinion about anything, regardless of if it is harmful. However, social media can also be a useful tool to advocate for self-love and empower those without a partner.
"Social media has given a lot more people the ability to turn their own thoughts into a microphone space where it can be shared with others, and that has allowed people to start hearing other people talking about this issue," Ulrich said.
As the conversation about being single on holidays has grown, it has not only raised awareness about different perspectives on relationships but has also contributed to global shifts in how everyone perceives Valentine's Day. As more voices chime in on the discussion, there is an increasing recognition that love and companionship come in many forms. While this has created variations of the holiday, the consensus remains that just because one is single, does not mean they have to spend Valentine's Day alone.
"I think there has been a move to push Valentine's Day into broader understandings beyond just a romantic love, but oftentimes that still correlates to spending it with someone else, like Galentine's Day," Dr. Ulrich said.
Even though society has pushed for Valentine's Day to be a group holiday doesn't mean it has to be one. In fact, spending Valentine's Day alone can also have many unseen benefits. One could use it as a day to practice self-care, taking an "everything shower," or sitting down with their favorite food and movies.
"[Valentine's Day is] an opportunity to enjoy yourself, as opposed to feeling like you are missing [out on something]. You've got yourself." Dr Ulrich said.
Being single on the holiday not only puts a new lens on Valentine's Day but also goes to show how much value one can put in oneself and how far it can take you in your self-confidence.
At the end of the day, Valentine's Day and all other holidays, center around love, which can be found anywhere. Try looking around this year and finding it in places you never thought you could. The way your pet runs at you when you get home, your parents saying "good night" before bed, your teacher greeting you with a smile every day, or you keeping yourself happy doing things you like all exemplify love. If you look deep enough, you can find all the ways the world is full of love.
