It’s February in Pittsburgh and the sun sets a little later than 5 p.m. every single day. The trees are deprived of leaves, stripped bare and rattled by gusts of cold air in their most vulnerable state. Slushy, muddy grounds and uncomfortable temperatures force people to retreat to small pockets of heat scattered across campus, indoor refuges with burning radiators and cozy fireplaces. The brunt of the semester inches closer and uncontrollable emotions surrounding anxiousness and impending doom creep their way into academic spaces, further exaggerating the isolating experience of a classic Pennsylvanian winter.
In addition to moody weather and stressful schooling, February has an infamous tendency to create unnecessary feelings of loneliness due to its unforgiving romantic nature, building a poor rapport from the lovey-dovey ambiance of Valentine’s Day.
A largely polarizing holiday, Valentine’s Day is a festivity that often divides a population into two categories: critics and enthusiasts. A valid argument within both sides, skeptics of this special day condemn the commercialization and exaggerated glory of partnership often pronounced by the most popular portrayals of the celebration. An entire day, and weeks of preluded tension, dedicated to a reality that not everyone has or desires leads to increased feelings of bitterness, or more commonly, emptiness.
However, the holiday can prove to be a vessel for good, especially among a student body facing the unforgiving challenges of this year’s spring semester.
Small displays of appreciation, such as spoken tokens of thanks and messages crafted with care, for those around you: friends, family, mentors and other figures, is just one way to garner the festivity in an inclusive and impactful manner. Ideals of cute dates can be replaced with homey nights spent with friends and a justification to excuse yourself from the chaos of outside events.
However, if alternative celebrations such as platonic outings and verbal words of affirmation fail to alter poor feelings, perceptions of greedy overconsumption can easily be mended by understanding that Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be a day of giving or receiving, but rather a day of admiration. If nothing else, the holiday gives students, overwhelmed and breathless, the opportunity to remain grounded in what is often taken for granted: the efforts and support of an inner circle.
In a time and environment where an excess of free time and energy can run low, an emphasis on the minute, day-to-day joys present in the usual mundane cycle of classes can prove to be effective in relieving the anxieties of academic rigor and defeating climates. During a time that can seem increasingly more lonely and isolating every day, it becomes even more important that we show and express our love whenever possible. Valentine’s Day does not have to be an expansion of consumerism and romantic affections, but rather an expression of commitment toward the people that we love and the things that we hold dear to us.
