FOR:

(Kasey Cross)

Valentine’s Day is one of the most hated and complained about holidays. Students and adults often relish in the opportunity to complain about being single and “alone”. It’s estimated about half of the U.S. is made up of single people, so this can get old. Fast.

Valentine’s Day is a day where everyone’s romantic relationships are shoved in our faces. Especially in high school, where everyone shows everything about their relationship off, whether you like it or not.

I hated this holiday for a long time for this exact reason. Why should I enjoy this holiday meant just for other people to love other people, and I’m alone? If someone feels the same way, I say to you: Lighten up, man.

Valentine’s Day is marketed to be about love. So why not relish in that? You love your mom, your friends, your dog, maybe even yourself. So why not have fun and take advantage of the $3 stuffed animals and the heart shaped pizza offers?

Take advantage of the on-sale candy and have a good time! Or treat yo’ self, as the kids say these days.

The only hate you’re creating on Valentine’s Day is from yourself. I don’t think your friends and family would be that miserable if you took advantage of the holiday and did a little something nice for them. Be that one person who inconveniences their best friend out of love with a giant 5ft. Bear!

Valentine’s Day can easily be an amazing holiday, if everyone actually takes the time to realize romantic love is not the only type of love, and to have fun with those who mean most to you. And in short: Don’t hate. Participate.

AGAINST:

(Nikki Hazelett)

Valentine’s Day is a scam. It is a day for lovey dovey couples to make single people feel just like that, single. I don’t see the point in having one specific day to celebrate and make your significant other feel more special than usual.

You should be showering your partner with love and affection every day and making sure they are happy, not just showing them you care once a year. A box of chocolates and flowers might be a nice surprise, but feeling wanted and cared for everyday should be necessary in a relationship.

You can show love any month, any day, and any time, it is not secluded to February 14. Valentine’s Day is mostly consumed by flowers and card companies trying to make profits. While it is very sweet to get someone one of these things, wouldn’t it be even more meaningful to surprise someone on just a random day because you were thinking about them?

Don’t get me wrong, I love getting flowers, but being surprised is the best part. Truly, the only good thing about Valentine’s Day is the discounts on chocolate the day after.

I think a lot of people use Valentine’s Day as a day to show off what their loved one got them. They use social media to brag about what they received and if your significant other didn’t buy you this then obviously it is a doomed relationship. It also goes hand and hand with showing off a relationship in general on social media. These tactics are used to make single people feel bad about themselves.

I can understand using Valentine’s Day to empower your friends however. It is amazingly kind to get cute little presents as a way to remind your friends that they are loved and don’t need a relationship to make them a better person. I can 100% get behind that idea.

The real and most important thing about Valentine’s Day is that it is Arizona’s birthday. The state will be turning 106 this year.