The Future of February 14th

by Dylan Ricci

Leading up to Valentine’s Day, I decided to take to the interwebs out of curiosity to find out how my fellow John Abbott students truly felt about Valentine’s Day. Before asking both highly popular Facebook pages “JAC Secrets” and “UMentioned John Abbott”, I knew I was going to come across a few joke comments, but among the rough were a few good diamonds.

I discovered that the majority of the answers showed similar feelings toward Valentine’s Day. I can speak for myself when I say that it’s fun to turn a highly commercialized and consumerist driven holiday into an excuse to get extra mushy and celebrate the true cheese of being in a relationship, but why shouldn’t we be doing that regardless? Why should Valentine’s Day only be reserved for the people who possess a significant other? Why not celebrate with your best friend, or your mom, or even your dog, with a day filled with heart shaped candies and romantic comedies? I’d say maybe avoid giving those candies to your pets though.

There should be no shame in celebrating alone either! My alone time is very precious to me, and if anything I prefer being alone opposed to forcing myself to get out of bed and actually communicate with others. So why should the alone timers out there feel ashamed on this day? Show some love for yourself ! Go to the nearest Dollarama and buy one of every Valentine-themed product in the store. Throw your own party by decorating your room head to toe in red and pink, and catch up on that TV show or book that you’ve been meaning to finish.

Like a certain student (who shall go unnamed) mentioned, we don’t need a holiday like Valentine’s Day to remind ourselves to show love for our fellow earthling. Love deserves to be shared by everyone, and no John Abbott student should feel unloved this coming February 14th.

The most popular answers I came across included Netflix, pizza, and crying, which says a lot about our generation’s views on this holiday. With this in mind, I advise all fellow Abotters to wipe those tears and stay strong. Embrace the love you have for yourself and for the people who surround you, and realize that you’re a kickass person despite your relationship status. Eat as much pizza as you wish, and watch as much Netflix as your heart desires, until you begin to develop eyesight issues. At that point, I’d say maybe go see an optometrist.