Coming from an education major, I’ve studied how to design curriculum for certain holidays so students can have fun and learn important lessons. For Valentine’s Day, students get to learn about love. The memories we have from Valentine’s Day back then are still with us, and you’re probably picturing a classroom decked in pink and red hearts right now. But we’re grown women in college now, and we don’t rejoice for love anymore. Here’s how Valentine’s Day has changed, but how you can still celebrate like the good old days.
Love Letters
Anyone else remember bringing in tissue boxes and covering them in construction paper and sitting them on your desk for people to put cards in? It’s a classic for schools to do, as long as every kid makes every card for everyone. And the card your teacher gave you was always the best. You can totally do this as a college student, write letters to your friends on campus or even email people not on campus and tell them how much you love them and hope they can bask in the love on the holiday as well.
Sending roses
I know in my school, you could order fake roses for a dollar each to be sent to someone at the last class of the day, and it would have the name of the sender and a message attached when you got them. Students would be in the search to see who got the most, and who just bought some for themselves (I totally wanted to). And this absolutely can happen now, just get a bouquet of red roses and pass each flower out. Give them to friends, professors, advisors, or even strangers so you can brighten up someone’s day.
Decorations and dressing up
It’s true we can all remember the classroom having red and pink hearts all over the front board, on our desks, and the teacher’s corner. Some people may remember teachers telling everyone to dress up in the festive colors so everyone can celebrate. You could do this in a similar fashion, but as college students, we’re accustomed to sweatshirts and leggings most of the time. But of course, if you’re going on a date to celebrate, you should sport some pink or red. Maybe put some hearts on your dorm door.
Music
It might be just me, but sometimes my teachers would play music in the background as we were handing out cards to each other. Find a love-themed playlist on Spotify or YouTube and play it while doing work or when hanging out with friends to bring up the mood. Some good picks to look for are “This Love” by Maroon 5, “We Found Love” by Rihanna, “Give Me Love” by Ed Sheeran”, “Grenade” by Bruno Mars, “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis, “Love Story” by Taylor Swift, “Crazy in Love” by Beyonce, “At Last” by Etta James, and “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran.
Loving friends and family
Also something from school, we used to make heart cards for our parents to bring home and share with them, and we can do the same now. I always remember my parents getting me a heart of chocolates, the ones with something different in each of them. It’s a great thing to send to people, or you know, just buy one for yourself to eat all at once, you do you.
Movies
I didn’t have schools that did this, but I know some teachers who show movies on Valentine’s Day in high school, mostly “Charlie Brown’s Valentine’s Day Special”, “Moonrise Kingdom”, “Romeo and Juliet”, and “The Princess Bride”. Nowadays, you can watch some movies with your roommate or friends on campus. Romantic comedies just seem like the way to go.
Self-love
This was something we weren’t focused on at a young age, but we should be now. Whether or not you’re spending Valentine’s Day alone, remember to show love to yourself. Take a hot bath with a fragrance bath bomb, buy yourself a new outfit to wear, do a face mask, eat some chocolate, be happy to love yourself, because you’re the most important person to you.
Spread the love
If you want to do something more than hanging out with friends, there’s foundations and communities you can help out on Valentine’s Day. There are charities that accept Valentine’s for soldiers abroad because they need some extra love, or retirement homes where patients don’t see their families anymore. You can always donate cards, chocolate, fake flowers, and your hugs to others.
I know I always miss out on the old celebrations of this holiday when I see all the decorations put up in stores, but remember that just cause you’ve grown up doesn’t mean you’ve grown too old to have fun. Remember, Valentine’s Day is for celebrating love, and you don’t have to do that by just going on a date with your partner (if you have one), there’s a number of ways to enjoy the day, take inspiration from your past. I send you all love.