By Brendan Bogley
It was the time of year when the world’s color palate had taken a turn for the red. Almost everywhere we looked we were greeted with hearts, covering store windows and peppering their merchandise. We were approaching Valentine’s Day.
Traditionally a time when couples celebrate their pairing, this holiday left the other half of the people in the red-speckled dust. Single people have learned how to cope with their present situations, and when it comes to Valentine’s Day, many of these students at Frederick Community College have a certain agenda in order to celebrate the day without being in a relationship.
Some students, however, do not bother themselves with the holiday.
“Half of the time I never even realize it’s Valentine’s Day,” Matthew Fowler said. “Valentine’s day has always been an enormous non-event.”
Fowler was not compelled to succumb to the excitement or expectations of this holiday. Instead, he used it as an opportunity to catch up on sleep. He did, however, notice and appreciate the day to some degree.
“My parents and family, we all exchanged little Valentines, cards,” Fowler added. He also said that he attended a St. Valentine’s Day dance at Monocacy Valley Church, where he socialized with his friends.
Fowler said that he was dating someone on Valentine’s Day three to four years ago, but the day was celebrated similarly to how he spent this past holiday.
“I don’t think we did anything,” Fowler said.
Another student, Jeni Lacko, spent the morning sleeping in as well.
“I slept in [that] morning because I was too sick to go to church,” Lacko said. “So while my parents were gone I just cleaned and did laundry. And when they got home, my parents and I cooked steak and ate donuts. Later in the afternoon she managed to go to her job at a retirement home.
“We did a fun little candlelit dinner for the residents there, so that was exciting,” Lacko added.
In addition to working, she sent Valentine’s Day cards to her friends, as well as a delivery of cookies to her friend at West Virginia University. Lacko said that her friend’s relationship had recently ended, so she thought a shipment of treats would be a nice gesture.
This Valentine’s Day, Lacko made a discovery concerning another of her friends, Molly, with whom she shares a favorite inside joke. Looking at Timehop, an application that shows you past events, Lacko realized that it was on a Valentine’s Day six years ago when she and Molly first originated the joke.
“It was really funny to look back on that,” she said. Considering that it is still an ongoing joke, Lacko considers that to have been her best Valentine’s Day.
It appears that resting at home is a common theme among students without significant others on Valentine’s Day, although the desired reprieve may be more in response to a lack of sleep than a lack of relationship obligations.
“I woke up at 10 a.m. to go to the 10:30 a.m. Mass,” John-Paul LeGare said. “… and then I turned my alarm off, went back to sleep, and decided to go to the noon Mass.”
At 4 p.m. LeGare went to work at Food Lion, coming home five hours later to find people at a Valentine’s Day party at his house.
“Now, I’m almost always single, so we usually do a little family party,” LeGare said. “We have desserts and a big dinner, and be single together, but mostly I just go about my regular schedule on Valentine’s Day.”
If LeGare was in a relationship on Valentine’s Day, he said he would do the tried and true activities such as watching movies and going to dinner.
“And kiss ‘em, I guess,” LeGare added.
Valentine’s Day comes and goes, and students continue to proceed without being in a relationship. However, not having a significant other generally seems to have little impact on their peace of mind.
“No, not at all,” said Kelly. If she were to be in a relationship, however, she hopes it would be with someone who has a sense of humor.
A sense of humor is a recurring trait that people would like to see in a boyfriend or girlfriend. This is evidenced by another student, Meade Considine, who said that being funny is an appreciated quality to find in someone.
Considine added that he does not go anywhere with the intention of finding someone. He believes that he would meet a person within the schedule he already has, through his friends, work or school.
Another student, Meghan, said that she does not expressly go looking for people she would like to date either.
“If I meet somebody, cool,” Meghan said.
While he does not mind being single, another student, Forrest, realized that there is a positive side to the matter.
“Less money to spend,” Forrest said.
Even if it may be more apathy than agony, students assign differing levels of eminence to the roles Valentine’s Day and single life play in their schedules. Many single students and their families still use the holiday as a time to let their loved ones know that they are in their thoughts. It is a day to maintain the status quo, to refresh the love that holds families and friendships together. During and outside of Valentine’s Day, some students have adjusted to their current state, and they know how they would approach moving into a relationship. They are well composed, and many realize that it is not the commercialism of surplus heart cut-outs, but the bonds which students already have that can give Valentine’s Day its merit.
