Every February, shelves are filled and subliminal messages are sent telling us one thing: Valentine’s Day is upon us. Some people love it, some people hate it. Turns out most people in the newsroom hate it — maybe the ink is getting to us. No matter your feelings about the holiday, almost everyone has an embarrassing memory to look back on.
Hunter Lee, Photo Editor
Not necessarily a bad story but during my freshman year of high school I went out with this girl I had been talking to. We went on a date to the park to have lunch and I had made a pizza with pepperoni spelling out “BE MY GF?” She said yes, but every time I think of that time it literally makes me want to puke. Also I still had braces on, so that sours the memory even more.
Sabrina Flores, Assistant Photo Editor
Cue the dark clouds and dismal music — Valentine’s Day is by far my least favorite holiday, saved only by the fact that my mom buys me chocolate every year. When I was in the fourth grade, she bought me a plethora of FunDip candies to distribute to my entire class.
I dutifully passed out my delicious FunDips, only to have my crush snap his dipstick and toss his packet in the trash. Needless to say, this definitely set the mood for the day for the rest of my adult years.
Jade Inglada, Design Editor
I wish I had some kind of Valentine’s Day story to share, but I’ve never confessed to anyone around this time of year, nor has anyone tried to surprise me. I don’t think it’s totally bad though—there’s something about grand romantic gestures being tied to this specific day that doesn’t sound appealing.
Kevin Colindres, Assistant Sports Editor
I fell in love with basketball when I was a young boy. Every Valentine’s Day I take time to appreciate the game and play all day. This year I have work, so I will have to play after. Also the Lakers play tomorrow against the Pelicans and we need that win for the playoff push. These short Isaiah Thomas jokes have been keeping me alive. Go Lakers. Go Beach. Happy Valentine’s Day.
Bobby Yagake, Multimedia Managing Editor
I wanted to give my crush a Valentine’s gram when I was a high school sophomore, but I found out that she wouldn’t get it until the week after Valentine’s Day because she was attending a Model United Nations conference in Washington, D.C.
I heard she received it the week she came back. I’m not sure if she felt that Valentine was a pleasant surprise or if it came out of nowhere.
Amanda Recio, Social Media Editor
I once went out on a date in one of my early years of college. We went to get dinner and a movie. It had been a particularly long day of classes so I was a bit exhausted. The food coma must have been real because the next thing I know I was knocked out with my head leaned on his shoulder. I woke up after the movie ended…MORTIFIED.
I apologized a bunch of times and made sure he knew it had nothing to do with him and everything to do with being in a comfortable chair in a dark room. Luckily he understood, but I make it a point never to go to the movies on a first date again.
Sarah Vehrs, Assistant News Editor
There was a boy in my English class who clearly had a crush on me my freshman year of high school, and I, being single and fresh out of Catholic school, was very oblivious. Innocent me received a note on Feb. 14 that read, “will you be my Valentine?”
So, I decided to say, “yes,” and oh, what a mistake. He came to school the next day with a teddy bear, which he gave to me the next day during passing period. When he handed it to me, he tried to take my hand to kiss it, but he was so stiff and uncharming, I went rigid and tried to pull my hand back because I didn’t know what was happening. He had to bend so low to kiss me because he was a foot taller and had already committed. We were both bright red after that.
Samantha Diaz, Arts and Life Editor
My first Valentine’s Day I was actually dating someone was in 2016, my senior year of high school. That was cool and all, but there was something much more important going on that day: the NBA All-Star Game. It was Kobe’s 18th and last All-Star appearance, so it was a very emotional day and the guy who I was dating at the time — not a basketball fan — had to sit there and watch me watch the game and cry about Kobe. I can’t speak for the guy I was dating, but I had fun; the West won 196-173.
Christian Gonzales, Sports Editor
I don’t like Valentine’s Day due to the fact that everything is expensive. All the places to go eat are full and have a crazy wait time attached to it. What I do with my girlfriend is celebrate Valentine’s Day another day and skip all of the pricey things that are attached.
Drew Mametsuka – Assistant Design Editor
My high school girlfriend planned a “special” day for me as a way to celebrate the holiday. Throughout the day she would leave little notes in my locker expressing her love toward me. I wasn’t about it.
At the end of the day, she surprised me with a cake in the shape of a heart and about five minutes later, she knocked it out of my hands as she tried to jump on my back for a piggy back ride. The force of her jumping on me and the wonders of gravity made me fall into the cake on the floor. We broke up a week later.
Carlos Villicana, Special Projects Editor
Valentine’s Day is a fiction used by business people to get you to buy stuff. Don’t do it. Unless you’re buying chocolates… for me. Better yet, go buy a meal for a homeless person or animal. Do something nice, don’t be a chud.
James Chow, Senior News Assistant
I thought Valentine’s Day was not a thing, like something that happens every four years. Oh, but happy condom day!
Adriana Ramirez, Executive Video Producer
I don’t have any bad Valentine’s Day memories but my most memorable one is when my date and I laid in the middle of the street. We stayed there laughing and talking for a good five minutes until a car nearly ran us over.