The girl wakes up to flowers, goes on a nice expensive date with her boyfriend and then comes home to a bed of roses and gifts. The girl that is not in a relationship sits at home, eats chocolate and cries while she watches romance movies. It’s the same stereotype that has taken over Valentine’s Day for years. 

While this stereotype may be accurate in movies, advertisements and songs, it’s not always accurate for students, and it affects how people view the “day of love.”

Over 62% of the 141 EHS students surveyed don’t have plans for Valentine’s Day this year. 

“Valentine’s Day is portrayed as a holiday you have to spend with a partner and in some ways puts shame on people who are single and that shouldn’t be the case,” senior Bella Arth said.

Although Arth isn’t in a relationship, she uses this holiday as a way to celebrate her friends and spend time with them. This year, she plans to celebrate “Galentine’s Day” with a few of her friends. 

Galentine’s Day is a Valentine’s Day celebration spent with your friends that are girls, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

“This holiday isn’t about loving a single person, it’s about love in general,” Arth said.

Junior Aurora Wilke is spending her Valentine’s Day with her significant other, but she is also celebrating with her mom and her friends. Even though Wilke thinks that Valentine’s is stereotyped as a couples’ holiday, she thinks it should be celebrated how individuals choose to.

“Valentine’s Day is a day to show appreciation to those you care about,” Wilke said. 

Wilke is surprising her friends with gifts and plans to watch romantic comedies with at least one of them.

“I care for my friends, and I want them to be surprised and feel loved,” Wilke said. 

So, while Valentine’s Day is advertised as a day for couples, it loses its true meaning and creates a stereotype that people think they have to be in a relationship to celebrate the holiday. 

“Having another person in your life is a want not a need,” Arth said. “You don’t need another person to celebrate this holiday with.”