Love is in the Air

Stuyvesant students, single and taken, getting crushes and getting crushed, reflect on Valentine’s Day.

“Chocolate, flowers, consumerism, and possibility.” —Natalia Velez Rios, junior

“How single I am.” —Khandaker Ridwan, senior

“Romance and hearts. I don’t feel anything toward it. It’s nice. I get chocolate.” —Tori Lieberman, junior

“My sister once told me that my great-grandfather died on Valentine’s Day, and I’m still not sure if that’s true. But Valentine’s Day usually makes me think about the love that my great grandparents had for each other.” —Neve Diaz-Carr, sophomore

“Single people.” —Koey Ng, freshman

“Chocolate and candy and other sweet things.” —Nikki Chen, freshman

“When I think of Valentine's Day, I think of the heart chocolate and a day for members of a relationship to show their appreciation for their partner.” —Sean Fung, junior

“I think of love. Not necessarily just romantic love, but also the love that exists between friends or between a mother and a daughter. All kinds of love!” —Lamia Simrin, senior

“The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of Valentine's Day is chocolate. Even though I don't get them, thinking about them and buying it for myself feel nice.” —Xinlei Lin, junior

“Haha, you’re single. Get wrecked.” —David Shi, junior

“When I think of Valentine’s Day, I think of just appreciating your significant other and just loving them and really valuing their presence in your life. It’s not all about gifts and flowers and chocolate, and though those are cute, it’s the person who matters, not the materialistic things.” —Sajia Athai, sophomore

“Chocolate and flowers.” —Brian Lee, sophomore

“Tbh when I think of Valentine’s Day, I think of a teddy bear holding a fluffy heart.” —Emily Young-Squire, freshman

“I think of [EXPLETIVE] sweethearts candy.” —Bernard Wang, senior

"Valentine’s Day is when you force yourself to shoot your shot because it just feels so much worse when you get rejected that day.” —Alvin Yao, senior

“Chocolate ads everywhere.” —Abir Taheer, junior

“I prefer to watch anime and contemplate whether my existence truly matters” —Maxwell Zen, sophomore

“I think of the color red because that’s the color of hearts.” —Victoria Yu, junior

“I think of my family and friends and everyone I love in my life. Everyone who has loved me or dedicated time from their life to me.” —Eduardo Lozano, freshman

“I think of equally distributed heart shaped candies, because that’s what Valentine's Day was in middle school […] some people take themselves too seriously.” —Dexter Wells, sophomore

“Couples? Dating, cuffing, spending time with people you love and your friends” — Michelle Zhang, sophomore

“Singles either feeling bitter about being single or talking on and on about how they're happy they're single; couples participating in extravagant displays of affection because they feel obligated to give a performance of their love when Valentine's Day is simply a foolish social construct.” — Rakiba Sultana, sophomore