Valentine's Day..??

Ah.. the day of love, of romance, of celebration for anyone who is in love.. this oh-so-lovely day my friends is called "Valentine's Day." While a kid, you have big parties and celebrations at school to celebrate this holiday, but now that is not really the case. Don't you remember making the little "mailboxes" so the other students in your class could deliver you a valentine's card?..Staying up late the night before filling out each card with a different name?...Making crafty projects with red and pink card stock? Coming home with backpacks filled to the point where zipping the bag was an impossible task? These are the things I remember from my past Valentine's Day experiences.

Once in junior high, there weren't parties or card stock projects, it was just a normal day, with normal projects, and normal homework. Let me tell you that I'm glad my elementary days are over, but I do miss the holidays where we would do nothing other than party at school. Something else that happened the minute I got into junior high was the pressure for "liking someone." Whether It was announcements, fundraisers, or school dances, it seemed like everyone was asking at least 5 times a day "Who do you like?" Being an innocent little seventh grader, I had crushes but didn't really like anyone, which shocked my friends. The annoying questions day after day got even worse in the eighth grade, but it didn't stop there either. Why everyone can't mind their own business, I don't know! I think everyone already know that everyone is bound to have a crush on someone, so why can't we leave it at that? That is beside the point, but back to Valentine's Day.

So yes, Valentine's Day in junior high is not the funnest. It is just a day of awkwardness as silly people around you hand each other candy and teddy bears. At the dance, intimidated kids stand around hoping that someone will ask them to dance so their day can be complete and they can have the moment they've always wished for.

The only thing I love about Valentine's Day is the family parties we have. We have fondue with strawberries, bananas, and quite honestly anything you can cover in chocolate. We "celebrate" by watching a movie or getting out the apple cider to toast on how much we love each other. Really this is what makes valentines day special for me. I don't care if I get any candy-grams or if anyone asks me to dance, because that really doesn't matter.

Now I am going to quote a friend. When asked, "What do you love about Valentine's Day?" she replied, "I love valentine's day because I get to love everyone!" and now, that is my new motto. haha:)