Students celebrate Valentine’s Day

By Paige Ochoa, Auden Marsh-Armstrong & Averi Brayton,
BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

According to the National Retail Federation, the average person will spend $136.57 on candy, flowers and other gifts this Valentine’s Day. With such a large price tag attached, couples will want to make sure to spend at all the right places, especially on the make-or-break dinner date.

This anticipated holiday is here and couples all around the world celebrate it together as they honor their hopefully everlasting love for one another.

“I would definitely like to do something with my boy,” junior Chloe Sears said.

Since July, Sears has been dating junior Evan Long and is particularly thankful for Valentine’s Day this year because it “gives you an opportunity to acknowledge the person that makes you happy.”

DHS senior Tyler Mortensen, who has been in a relationship for the past year, enjoys Valentine’s Day for other reasons. Mortensen thinks that Valentine’s Day is not overrated and, on the other hand, is in fact taken for granted.

“[Valentine’s Day] is the one day of the year you get to truly show your affection towards your partner,” Mortensen said.

With this opportunity, he believes couples should take the time to sit in the park and have a picnic with each other so they can spend some quality time together and “just talk.”

“You also get to eat a lot of chocolate,” Mortensen said.

However, other DHS students, who are not currently in a relationship, have other ideas for the holiday.

“[Valentine’s Day] is a good idea, but there’s a lot that comes along with it,” senior Sadie Marigo said. “Especially because there’s no reason for the pressure.”

Instead of cozying up with her significant other for a nice dinner to watch the sunset, “or something cute like that”, Marigo plans to spend Valentine’s Day, or as she likes to call it, “Galentine’s Day,” with her best friends.

Marigo hopes to go out to dinner with her girls at Paesanos, which she thinks is “definitely the best place in town.”

With a romantic atmosphere of soft, Italian music on replay in the distance, the lights dimmed low and the continuous smell of traditional Italian dishes like fettuccini, pizza and spaghetti and meatballs, it is clear why Paesanos is one of the most popular spots in Davis to stop on Valentine’s Day.

Sophomore Regan Miller thinks Valentine’s Day is, “a great holiday to celebrate with all of your friends. I will end up making a ton of Valentines for all of my friends.”

UC Davis psychology professor Phillip Shaver agrees with Mortensen when it comes to the materialistic side of Valentine’s Day.

“Being loved is more important than candy,” Shaver said, as hard as that is to accept.

However, Shaver does believe going to dinner as a couple is a go-to for most, due to the several options Davis offers.

Another local restaurant that is spot-on for high schoolers is Crepeville. With a more low-key setup, Crepeville manager Kristen Peterson loves her restaurant because of the variety of people she gets to meet.

“[You] get to know [your regulars] and learn about their life stories. It’s really neat to get to know people you never would have,” Peterson said.

Because Crepeville is not as formal as Paesanos, Peterson believes that it would be great for a high school student who wants to “take a chance on a first date”.

Couples can lounge inside listening to the bustle of customers with the constant clatter of the kitchen behind the open counter or get more one-on-one time by sitting outside, Peterson advises couples on sharing a strawberry-Nutella crepe and salad for a Valentine’s Day date.

There is a drastic difference between the ways high school students celebrate Valentine’s Day and college students, according to Ryan Schacht, Department of Anthropology doctoral graduate of University of Utah, believes.

Schacht also believes that relationships tend to be different in high school and college.

“High school relationships are generally maintained in the couples’ hometown and likely where they share long-time friends […] spending time with parents may also be more common,” Schacht said. “However, once in college, and surrounded by strangers and with little parental oversight with no fear of affecting their reputation.”

This means college students are more willing to go out together to celebrate than high school students.

Andrew Roessler, as a college student, does not plan on making Valentines for his roommates like he did last year for his friends

“This year I’m just going to hang out with my girlfriend and plan a really fun night out,” Roessler said.

One involved college student is Abby Sutcliffe, another DHS alumni and freshman at Long Beach State, plans her Valentine’s Day as a fun dinner and a night on the town, “I think that Valentine’s Day is a fun way to celebrate the people you love and show them that you truly care.”

Sutcliffe is excited for Valentine’s Day because she feels being at college away from family will give her space to have a nice romantic dinner with her significant other.

Though Jason Leung, a single UCD sophomore, portrays his Valentine’s Day as lots of fun with little romance.

“I usually just go out with friends and eat a nice dinner,” Leung said.

Leung likes to go out with his friends on Valentine’s Day, but he says that he hopes soon he will be able to spend it with someone he loves.