Every year around this time, something special happens. It’s almost as if Mother Nature senses the shift, replacing January’s cool breeze with something familiar yet extraordinary: Love. And what better way to commemorate the big L word than its holiday, Valentine’s Day?
Red roses, heart-shaped boxes of decadent chocolates, teddy bears, and an extremely overwhelming selection of heart-shaped balloons– to me, the world has never looked better. The essence of Valentine’s Day is Love, so I wanted to learn more about the love that surrounds us. To do that, I asked a few people on campus about their story.
“Love is all the laughter and the tears that fall, the mundane and the magical, Love is all, all is love,” Mrs. Diaz said, reflecting on her 32 year marriage.
Some believe love is best expressed through grand gestures—boomboxes outside snowy windows, lengthy professions of love in front of vast crowds. But love is also found in the quiet, everyday moments.
”When I come home from a long day of work, my boyfriend always makes dinner and that’s love in my eyes,” Mrs. Bishoff said.
Young love is often overlooked. Many people mistake its innocence for arrogance and disregard it but sometimes young love defies its stereotype and proves itself to be just as valid at 18 as it is at 57.
“My boyfriend and I are best friends. Even with all the bumps in the roads and fights, I’m still grateful for them because he’s my person, and I wouldn’t want to be with anyone else,” senior Mia Prina shared.
Love doesn’t necessarily mean a relationship with another person, the love I think we forget most is self-love.
“Putting myself first and doing things that make me happy is what love means to me. I think that’s important for any relationship, especially the one with yourself,” senior Summer Lucas said.
Few things embodies love more than the bond between best friends.They’ve seen you at your best, stayed with you at your worst, and are truly a testament to what it means to be loved.
“My best friend and I have been friends for as long as I can remember. She’s been there for me through thick and thin and that’s what I think love is, the constant support and just knowing she’s there,” Miranda Contreras-Lopez said, reflecting on her lifelong friendship.
Whether it’s a lifelong friendship, a young romance, a lasting marriage, or simply a deep sense of self-worth, love can be found all around us. It lingers in the hidden corners, appearing when we least expect it.
This Valentine’s Day, I encourage you to look beyond the surface–you might just find that love has been there all along.
