Whether it was the midseason return of The Walking Dead or the most romantic day of the year, most were excited for February 14. Valentine’s Day did not fall on a weekday this year, but that did not stop Malden High School students from expressing their Valentine’s spirit.
Valentine’s Day hasn’t been the same since the days of elementary school when teachers made you give out Valentines to every kid in the class, and you went home with a backpack full of candy and temporary tattoos. Ever since, Valentine’s Day has gone downhill. Kids stopped buying 24 packs of Transformers Valentines and now are giving teddy bears, balloons, and boxes of chocolate to boyfriends and girlfriends, while the rest of us reminisce the good old times.
Freshman Annie You enjoys Valentine’s Day because “[she] can spend it with [her] loved ones.” Others appreciate the chocolate that accompanies the holiday. Freshman Angie Tejada mentioned that she likes Valentine’s Day because “chocolate goes on sale the day after.”
Valentine’s Day is not everybody’s cup of tea. The Huffington Post and Buzzfeed have published countless anti-Valentine’s Day inspired articles, including comical day cards and gifts for the anti-Valentine’s Day.
Not all students at MHS enjoy the holiday either. Freshman Sydney MacDonald expressed her reasons behind her disliking of the holiday. “Society makes it so you have to have a boy to buy you things or else you’re not good enough and that you have to do things on that day together when really [she’ll] be just as happy buying [her]self candy and watching movies all day.” “It’s more of a marketing scheme thing now then what it’s really about, love,” explained MacDonald.
Whether for it or against it, clubs were fundraising in the spirit of Valentine’s Day. Carnations from Key Club, Balloons from Fine Arts Club, and Chocolate Roses from Relay for Life and the class of 2018 were some of the fundraisers happening during the week of Valentine’s Day. “There’s a lot of ideas for sales and people are able to be creative in the gifts they give to their friends,” stated senior Daria Lee. Senior Linda Tran credits the fundraisers to “Malden High [for] always [being] so festive and competitive to give [their] loved ones the best gift.”
