When he was four years old, junior Pramodh Srihari bought his first gift for a girl on Valentine’s Day. He pulled four quarters from his house and sneakily went to the candy shop to buy her a lollipop. However, when he went to school the next day to give her the lollipop, to his disappointment, she rejected him, telling him she was not his Valentine as she did not like him. Despite this unfortunate Valentine’s Day experience, Srihari doesn’t hold any grudges against the holiday.

Everyone has different Valentine’s Day traditions. Some lavish their loved ones with gifts and flowers, while others dislike the feeling of being obliged to give gifts. Those who do not have a loved one may dread the holiday with feelings of loneliness.

“Valentine’s Day is a great holiday,” Srihari said. “I think it’s a good idea to have a day in the year where [lovers] can truly appreciate each other’s presence.”

Srihari also believes that for single people like himself, the holiday can serve as a motivation to get into a relationship, although he does not think he himself is ready or mature enough to be in one.

Similarly, freshman Shreshta Ranganathan appreciates Valentine’s Day and sees it as not only a holiday to be celebrated with a special someone, but one that can be celebrated with friends and family as well.

“I like Valentine’s Day because it’s like cute and lovey-dovey, but I guess I’m a little sad [since I’m not in a relationship],” Ranganathan said. “But it doesn’t really bother me because I can just hang out with my friends and chill together.”

As someone who is not single yet not officially in a relationship, freshman Sneha Maiti also shared her thoughts on the holiday, which are similar to Ranganathan’s.

“It’s really sweet and it’s like a nice, happy day, and I appreciate it,” Maiti said. “But I guess there’s more pressure [being in a relationship] because you have to think about what you’re going to do for each other, and it kind of gets embarrassing when everybody makes a big deal about it. But it’s still a great day, so overall, [Valentine’s Day] is great, I guess.”

While there are those like Srihari, Ranganathan and Maiti who appreciate Valentine’s Day regardless of whether they are single are not, on the other side of the spectrum, junior Karishma Chari considers the holiday an unnecessary celebration for couples.   

“I personally feel like Valentine’s Day is like a fake holiday, and not real to me,” Chari said. “Why do you have to have a separate day to be extra lovey-dovey?”

Chari thinks being in a relationship with someone and spending time with them already demonstrates love and appreciation, and so there is no need to have a designated day each year to express those feelings.

“Regardless of what I think, people are always are going to be in love even if I may not be,” Chari said. “It’s just a regular day to me.”