Walking into Walmart, you see aisles filled with fuzzy stuffed bears holding a red heart saying “Be my Valentine?” and rows and rows of heart-shaped boxes filled with mediocre chocolates. Suddenly, you look around and become increasingly self-aware of the number of couples giggling and holding hands.
It’s the time of year that is loved by some and dreaded by many.
Every year on Feb. 14, couples worldwide celebrate Valentine’s Day. People may shower their significant other with gifts, emphasizing their love, or they may just convey a small gesture to the platonic, yet important people in their lives, showing appreciation. Some may look at it as just another day.
Students who attended a TISD elementary school can reflect fondly on the happy memories that they were able to make from the annual Valentine’s Day parties that were hosted in their classrooms each year.
“We would decorate paper bags before the party,” sophomore Hailey Jackson said. “Then we would put candy in those bags on the day of the party and enjoy all the treats we got.”
Entering into high school, students often experience their firsts: first loves, first relationships and yes, first heartbreaks. With a population of around 1,800 students, Texas High students can be seen celebrating in different ways, or maybe not at all.
In the past, Texas High has attempted to mimic the fondly remembered class parties of elementary school with its own Valentine’s Day parties. In 2023, Room 49 held a party in the THS cafeteria; Texas High Student Council hosted a Valentine’s day event for elementary students across the district. They provided crafts, food and entertainment to the students participating.
Big Valentine’s themed events aren’t for everyone though. Different clubs at Texas High also used to partake in these celebrations; however, they chose to take a more personal route with their festivities. Rosebuds Junior Garden Club used to have a tradition where students could purchase carnation flowers for $2 and have those delivered to a student of their choosing. They chose to donate the funds they raised from this event to help and assist local hospitals rather than giving the money to a bigger charity like St. Judes.
Valentine’s day clearly isn’t just a school thing though. Many students at Texas High also partake in their very own Valentine’s traditions at home, spending time with their families and loved ones and making valuable memories.
“Me and my mom have this tradition of trading gifts and we also make a load of Pillsbury Doughboy heart-shaped cookies,” sophomore Melanie Mutoke said. “We also eat candy and watch movies and then do whatever else we need to do for the day.”
But at the end of the day, some people see Valentine’s Day as just any other day in the year. They don’t do anything out of the ordinary or extravagant to celebrate and instead just leave it be.
“To me, I guess that Valentine’s Day is just like a normal day,” Jackson said. “There’s not anything too special about it to me.”
