Valentine’s Day is the most heated, ambiguously infamous, and emotionally-conflicting holiday to ever come into existence. The certified lover girls adore this formal opportunity to shower their partners with affectionate romantic love in the forms of love letters, chocolate treats, and consumerist goods. The haters of PDA dread this horrid day on the February calendar, for they wish that every couple spamming social media about their 3 month relationship could just quiet down. Of course, we cannot forget about the percentage of the population who simply find the day another boring date in their mundane schedule. I asked several college women of HerCampus at CNU to reveal their prior experiences of 2/14 in hopes to reach a mood consensus about how the young generation of women regard this holiday. They offered me sweet tales of their ultimate best Valentine’s Day in history and the harrowing horror stories of their worst of V-days. The personal accounts of the extreme worsts that many college women have encountered are so dreadful that even Cupid would cringe at the treatment! Read their responses to see if you can relate to the straight-outta-romance novel encounters or the less than loving experiences.
the best of the best
Zoe: The best Valentine’s Day I ever had was probably last year. I decided to surprise my crush with gifts in his dorm. His roommate let me in and I left him some goodies from a “secret admirer”. When I got back to my room, I was also left with some treats from an unknown gifter, but I knew judging from the handwriting. Four days later we started dating!
Brooke: In eighth grade, I hosted a Galentine’s event at my house and invited 3 of my friends over. We set up a chocolate fountain flowing with chopped up fresh fruit (bananas and strawberries) and cakey desserts (spongecake and creampuffs). We also created personal pan pizzas that we each decorated to our preference, and wrapped up the night by playing board games and watching a rom-com on top of a huge 7 foot Costco teddy bear.
Clair: The best Valentine’s Day I had was when I went out on a date with my now boyfriend. It was the first time I was dating someone during the Valentine’s Day season and it was the best. He took me out to eat and made me a little gift basket :)
Allison: My best valentines is probably the first Her Campus Galentines party I planned as President, which was last year, February 2024. We decorated our meeting room to be very cutesy and on Valentines theme, we decorated sugar cookies with colorful frosting, and we played white elephant with lots of exciting and silly gifts. It was a relatively low-key night, but enjoyable because I spent it with some amazing people.
the chill v-day
Nat: The best Valentines Day I’ve had is probably this one, 2025. Although the day hasn’t come yet, my boyfriend and I have celebrated early with dinner to one of our favorite places and all of my favorite snacks. I prefer something relaxed and comfortable, nothing extravagant.
Hannah: I love movies, but I’m not really a rom-com girl, except for girls nights and special events of that nature. I’m a big Galentine’s girl so the year I realized I could stay in and watch rom-coms, especially given that I hardly ever do, a game changer for the way I celebrated. Now I watch a couple rom-coms and eat some chocolate without feeling the pressure of relationship stuff because I was able to make it a fun day for me!
the meh experiences
Nat: I don’t think I’ve ever had a “terrible” valentines day. It’s not that big of a deal to me to begin with, so if the day happens to be bad, it is just another bad day to me. The “worst” may have been in previous years if I had to work.
Hannah: Honestly, I’ve never been a big Valentine’s Day person, so most of the time on February 14th I feel neutral to the festivities happening around me. Valentine’s Day can be an isolating holiday if you don’t have anyone to celebrate with, whether it’s a partner or your besties. This past year, my friends were scared because I was in that weird transition from high schooler to adult and everyone was starting to go their separate ways. So Valentine’s Day 2024 really made me aware of how everything was about to change, which was kind of a rough realization on a day that’s about being with the people you love, but I know that change only ever leads to growth.
the downright diabolical
Zoe: The worst Valentine’s Day I ever had was about three or four years ago, my ex boyfriend got me nothing. I got him gifts and he didn’t get me anything at all. We had been dating for over six months…
Brooke: The worst experience was my Senior year of high school with my standoffish ex-boyfriend (ugh). My sweet mother and I spent lots of money and effort to organize a trip to a fancy ski resort for a fun day of snow-tubing for my ex and me. She even drove us 2 hours away to the mountains! I was so grateful to my mother and excited for sliding down snow hills, despite the frigid chill that froze my runny nose and nipped my fingers. My unresponsive ex complained the whole drive there, never thanked us, and barely even paid attention to me. I felt so guilty that my mom went above and beyond for us and he acted like a turd the entire time (the entire relationship too, may I add).
Clair: The worst Valentine’s Day I had turned out very good in the beginning. He had given me lots of gifts from the store which I thought was sweet. Turns out, he actually stole all these items from the store and I found out about it later. The thought was there, but the moral compass was not. Needless to say, I haven’t spoken to him since.
Allison: My worst Valentine’s day was a few years ago with my ex boyfriend. He took me out a few weeks before Valentine’s day because he “wasn’t sure we’d still be together in a few weeks”, which he actually said to me at dinner that night when he told me this was our Valentine’s Date, after I had asked why we were celebrating in late January.