By Demari Muff
Happy Valentines Day, I mean Galentines Day, oops I mean Singles Awareness Day. These days Valentines Day seems to be one of the most controversial holidays it’s like everyone seems to have an opinion about it. Some people enjoy the holiday and see it as a great way to spend time with their significant others, some see it as a pointless holiday and ask the question why not treat your significant other special everyday and why does there need to be a specific day to show love and affection. The multiple views of the holiday made me curious, so I decided to take to the streets and find out how the citizens of Athens feel about the controversial holiday.
The first person I talked to was Emily Vaido, an Applied Nutrition major here at Ohio University. She felt as though Valentines Day is Hallmark Holiday but isn’t bitter about the people who celebrate it. Emily is a proud supporter of Galentines, which consists of spending the holiday having fun with her gal pals.
Next up was John Kocsis who is majoring in Broadcast Journalism. John thought the holiday was over done and liked it better when he was a kid but today he sees Valentines Day as a day that could be an opportunity to pursue a possible significant other without being “weird”.
After John, I then asked Emily Schmitt who is majoring in Applied Nutrition what her thoughts were on Valentines Day were. She gave a very unique answer and provided a different way to look at the holiday. Emily said “Although people spend a lot of money on their significant others, it’s nice that people in general show love to each other and it doesn’t have to be a significant other it can be friends and family”.
Finally I asked Delaney Hardy a student studying communications who has been through three rounds of Valentines Day festivities with her significant other. Delaney said she liked the holiday but doesn’t need one day to show affection to her significant other. She also mentioned how buying gifts can be a stressful task.
As you can see everyone has a different view of the holiday. Whether you are spending it with friends or family, or using it as a day to pursue your possible significant other. Keep in mind the true meaning of the holiday and that is to show love and appreciation to the people around you. Hope everyone has a great Valentines Day filled with lots of love!
xoxoxox
Demari is a sophomore at Ohio University who is currently studying business, but is in the process of switching to strategic communication. Follow him on Twitter at @DemariTheHuman!