1. Valentine's Day, Never a Bed of Roses
By: Angelina Wu
MANHATTAN, NY- It's that time of the year again.
The smell of roses fill the air with so much intensity that it had felt like the whole world had
been using only one type of perfume. Chocolates, hand-knit sweaters and carefully wrapped up
presents in pink wrapping paper sit on the laps of women who had taken five hours to do their hair
and make-up this morning.
The men will wear their best jeans and spray on their most expensive perfumes, holding their
heads up high in the air as they walk out the doors with their clean-shaven faces, a bouquet of roses
clutched tightly in every one of their slightly sweaty palms.
It is the day that generates record-breaking flower sales and led to fully-booked fancy
restaurants (that you would usually tend to avoid, from fear of a whole chunk of your monthly
paycheck going to a plate of lobster whatsitsname and a meagre side dish of garden salad). But you
don't care, for it is a special day.
But really, had Valentine's day turn into a day of glitzy glamour girls in $500 dresses and
candlelit dinners and presents wrapped in sparkly bow ties instead of what the holiday really
means?
Valentine's day is the day that lovers remember how much love they have for each other and
cherish each other's company (And the day singles wrap themselves up in their blankets with a box
of Kleenex and a tint of Haagen Dazs and sappy movies, trying not to dwell too much on the fact
that the couple next door is making out way too loudly).
"But it had seemed like everyone has forgotten its real meaning," said Ryan Brown, a retired
62-year-old man who had travelled around the world with his wife, "I see young men these days
running around at the last minute before the dinner date, trying to find the first bouquet of roses
their eyes can land on or the first Cadbury's their hands can reach at the nearest 7/11, and it makes
me wonder once again, 'What, exactly, is the point?'"
“Valentine's Day, to me, is never a bed of roses. I have to spend weeks trying to find the
perfect gift for my girlfriend so I won't disappoint her, and spend $600 for a dinner at a fancy
restaurant I don't even like! If you ask me, I'd rather have the holiday disbanded, and use the time I
had wasted for something more worthwhile, like making money, instead of wasting it.” said Carl
Dickson, a banker at HBSC, when asked about the significance of the day to his life.
And Dickson doesn't stand alone in his opinion on this matter. Many other men and women in
this city find Valentine's Day a huge burden in their part, sometimes on what to get for their
partners, or how costly everything has become.
“Valentine's Day is clearly overrated. Me and my girlfriend had decided to never celebrate
Valentine's day, and instead, we work over-time and earn money, so that we can get each other gifts
and spend holidays in Asia at any other day.” said Frederick Houlston, a lawyer at Frankie&co. in
Main Street.
But many still believe in the holiday and its significance, and believe in its power to
strengthen relationships and spend time with your loved ones.

2. "It shouldn't be just once a year that you show your love. It should be everyday!" said Darwin
Jonas, a graduate from the University of Barcelona under Bachelor of Sociology, Love and
Relationships, “Valentine's Day should be the day that you put aside other priorities in your life,
take a break from all your work, and show your loved ones that they are loved.”
People often grouse about all the disappointments, all the arguments and everyday
annoyances, the repetitive frustrations that make being in a relationship a challenge. But let's use
this day to cherish all of that: The 2 a.m. fight on a Friday night, how he farts in your face all the
time, or how she gives you the attitude when she's on her PMS. All the triumphs, the struggles, the
lesson we learnt from them.
That, is what, Valentine's day really means.
It's a day when you clink glass champagnes with the one you love over both of your favorite
pasta dish, clear out your schedules and turn off that damned Blackberry for once. It's the day you
tell him or her how deep your love is, instead of the hurried 'Love you's muttered as you jostled
with your leather jacket to get to work.
Love is not something you can wrap in a $20 wrapping paper, attached with a Hallmark card
and sent to the doorstep of your loved one with a bouquet of roses you asked your secretary to pick.
“It doesn't have to be big or fancy. It could just be an ordinary day when both of you cuddle
up on your sofa to watch the rerun of Friends or a chat over a home-cooked meal, or if you are
unfortunate like me, and live a continent away from that special one, a Skype date would do,” said
Jonas, “The point is, you are spending time together, and reminding each other that both of you are
loved in this special day.”
And so the women will sit on the benches in Madison garden, fiddling with the bows on their
flashy gifts, and the men will walk out the doors with the most amazing arrangement of rose
bouquets in their hands, not knowing that what truly matters on this day is not on the price tags that
hung to their presents, or the ostentatiousness of their gifts.
Because on Valentine's day, what really matters most, lies in the depth and sincerity in their
hearts.