Freshman Fireside; 49er Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day. The time for lovers to grow closer and all those single kids to complain about how much they hate the person they are crushing on for not loving them. Chocolate, passion, ice cream, depression fills the air in the early part of February and for us freshman, this is our first collegiate Valentine’s Day; What to do with a new mate or with friends to forget the fact that you are alone. On a campus of a little over 25,000 people, surely there is someone for everyone out there and he or she may be right in front of you.
People complain all the time about being single but I have yet to find anything wrong with it, yet. I mean a single person has opportunities to explore options and go on dates and better themselves through mistakes and triumphs. Learning that not every relationship works out is a good lesson to learn.
If you’re single, get a group of your other single friends and go out for dinner. Rent sappy movies and buy lots of junk food. Loneliness unites the single folk so have a blast with some people that you have probably been friend-zoned by. If you want to save your cash, try a late lunch at Bistro 49 and rent movies from the Green Box in Atkins Library. DVDs can be checked out just like books with the same due dates. With classics and new-ish releases, there is a large selection.
If you are happily in a relationship then there is a lot of pressure and questions. How much is too much? What should we do? These and more can be answered with some background information. Answering questions about your relationship like; Did you meet your significant other here at school? How long have you been together? What have past Valentine’s Day been like for the both of you? Here are a few date options that would suffice any relationship:
Go out to dinner at a sit-down restaurant. Try different accents each time the server comes and keep changing each other’s names. It’s a fun way to be goofy and have fun and maybe avoid the usual candle-lit dinner.
Walk the campus and take pictures at all spots you see fit. Go explore new places you don’t know that well and keep the conversation going the whole time. Learn more about each other and make as many funny faces as possible in the pictures.
My favorite idea yet; Drive into Uptown and find a random spot in a restaurant parking lot or a meter or a parking deck and leave your phones in the car. This is another one that you need to bring your camera along. See all the sites of Uptown and go into as many towers as you can. See what buildings you can get the highest in. Go into some hotels and do your best to act very posh and as if you belong there. Ask people on the street to take pictures of you in the popular spots. Chronicle the photos and within the days after, print them and make a collage together. This is a date that is active for a few days and then when you are done you will have something to remember it by other than the added calories from a box of chocolates.
Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be the exact plot from a Lifetime movie. You’re young. Keep it fun and upbeat and not too serious. Guys, buy the girl some simple earrings or necklace; nothing flashy but one that represents her personality. Girls, buy your guy a new pocketknife or a nice cigar. Something small and nifty to remind him that he is a man and you’re glad that he’s your man. So 49ers, find some love and have a good Valentine’s Day.
