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red roses on brown envelope
red roses on brown envelope
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SBU | Life

The Day of Love

Katie McKee Student Contributor, St. Bonaventure University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Today is Valentine’s Day, and this year is the first time I am experiencing a real Valentine’s Day. 

One where I have a significant other. Where someone other than my family or close friends love me, and more so where they want to show that to me. Don’t get me wrong, I am incredibly grateful, but it feels a little weird. 

Valentine’s Day as a whole is a little weird to me. 

Valentine’s Day is the day of love. Don’t we love every day? Why do we need one day to show love? 1 out of 365 days is given to loving spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, friend-friends, but why? Why not 365 out of 365 days?

Looking into the history of Valentine’s Day, I have learned a lot.

Some say that Valentine’s Day comes from similarities to the Roman Holiday Lupercalia, which would take place from the 13-15th of February. During this festival women and men were put into a lottery system and paired off, as a celebration of spring. 

However it wasn’t until many centuries later that the holiday actually became about romantic relationships. 

There are many different martyrs named Valentine from whom this special day could have originated from. One is the legend that he was a priest who had grown a strong connection with the prison keeper’s daughter and cured her from blindness. During the time of their connection, he would send her notes. Another says that was a different bishop, but there isn’t much evidence that the two weren’t the same man. 

The legend I choose to believe is that St. Valentine married men and women to keep their husbands out of war, even though it went against the orders of the emperor. 

This, though it was going against orders, is so wholesome to me. He wasn’t doing anything for himself, or out of love, he just wanted to protect people from the dangers of war. 

This day isn’t the only day we love the important people in our lives, but it could be a day that we should be giving to others. 

Valentine’s Day isn’t the most important day of the year, but it can help people feel loved. Especially when you think about in elementary school, your valentines were for the entire class. It wasn’t just for one person who had a special place in your heart, but the entire class. 

I think this is a way of showing that, even as a young kid, you are there for your classmates. 

Though this doesn’t change my idea of Valentine’s Day. But it gives me a little more understanding. I am so excited to spend this Valentine’s day with someone who does have that type of love for me. With someone who would go out of their way every day, but especially on Valentine’s Day to show their love. 

Happy Valentine’s!!

Katie McKee

SBU '27

Katie McKee is a sophomore member of Her Campus in the St. Bonaventure chapter. In her first semester in Her Campus she plans on writing about her experiences, movies, books, college, and anything else that makes her happy.

Katie is an Inclusive, Early Childhood and Childhood Education major, with a concentration in math. She is a member of both Bona Buddies and Club Soccer at SBU. She has always enjoyed journaling, and is excited to see what Her Campus has to offer.

In her free time, Katie likes to spend time with her friends on campus, and values her time at home with family. She loves reading a good romance or historical fiction, like “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid, listening to her favorite artists, like Noah Kahan and the Lumineers, or playing a good board game.