Every year, sometime around November, begins a season of new relationships. This is known as cuffing season. This trend begins before the first holiday, Thanksgiving and lasts, in most cases, until it begins to turn warm. Usually, this trend is in the hopes of spending the holidays with a loved one or significant other that will make the day special. Valentine’s Day is one of these holidays.

People want to People want to experience the proverbial “true love” that the day promises to bring. However, being forced to buy gifts that are bought simply because it’s expected by your significant other, makes the holiday full of fake love. If you don’t have a valentine, it’s spent feeling sorry for yourself and lonely. If you do, the stress of making it the perfect day ruins the whole holiday.

“I don’t like it,” senior Alexis Lombardo said. “It just stresses me out.”

To go out to dinner or to not go out to dinner, that is the question. Roses or chocolates? Flowers or jewelry? What do I get him? Candy? Not to mention the new couples who have just started dating. This creates an awkward, unexplored territory where both people don’t know what’s too much or too little for their first Valentine’s together.

“I think it’s pretty important to take time off to spend with the people you love on Valentine’s day,” senior Catherine Marino said. “But I think it’s more about that than the romantic aspect.” For those without a valentine, valentines may be spent with family or friends, but there’s no hiding the fact that the fact that you don’t have a true valentine hurts just a little bit.

“It’s really just a day for couples,” senior Tori Mielnicki said. “If you don’t have a valentine it kind of stinks.” While parents sometimes make up for this, getting a gift from your mom isn’t quite the same as having a valentine. Honestly, the gifts you get from your parents almost rub in the fact that you don’t have someone special to celebrate with.

Valentine’s Day is a day that everyone has forgotten the true meaning behind, most people just know it has something to do with St. Valentine. But what about him, who is he. There are many legends about Valentine’s day, but none are clear or proven facts. Valentine’s day has been warped to the point where it is no longer about love. Instead it creates a time of confusion and forced romance for couples everywhere.