Though Valentine’s Day
is typically regarded as a holiday for
romantic love (and corporate sales),
celebrations aren’t exclusive to couples.
WFS student Juli Buersmeyer
‘28 says that she celebrates Valentine’s
Day platonically, and that this year, she’s
“making little boxes of goodies to give to
[her] advisory.”
The tradition of gifting to
Buersmeyer’s advisory brings her joy.
“I think it’s just something I do every
year,” she says. Buersmeyer additionally
shares funny memories she has garnered
through Valentine’s Day. “Last year
Emma Furman gave our friend group
duck pins,” she says.
Katy Kenney speaks to the fam-
ily celebrations found in Valentine’s Day.
The 9th-grade English teacher thinks
of Valentine’s Day as a family holiday.
“We celebrate my daughter’s birthday,”
Kenney says. “She’s in college, so we’ll
probably Facetime. We’ll talk and have
her open gifts…Since she was born, it’s
been more of a family celebration than a
romantic one.”
Kenney goes on to say, “Be-
fore we had kids, we would go out to
dinner…but [my husband] still buys me
roses, and we exchange gifts.” The one
exception is the year Kenney gave birth
to her daughter. She says, “I don’t think
either of us even realized it was Valen-
tine’s Day until after the birth.”
Kenney says that although she
is grateful for the roses on Valentine’s
Day, they hold less importance to her.
Kenney says, “[My husband] also brings
me flowers on the eighth of every month
for our anniversary, so that’s more spe-
cial to me than Valentine’s Day.”
Amelia Rolls ‘25 celebrates
Valentine’s Day both romantically and
platonically by spending the holiday
with her girlfriend, and baking sweets
for friends. She explains that since she
and her girlfriend are long-distance, this
year, they’ll call each other.
Amelia loves to bake and
frequently brings in baked goods for her
friends and school clubs. She says, “Most
times I bring a Valentine-themed sweet
to school on Valentine’s Day.”
Though Amelia celebrates Val-
entine’s Day platonically by bringing in
Valentine’s themed baked goods to her
friends and advisory, she shares that she
doesn’t typically celebrate with friends.
Em Rissolo ‘26 says that on
most Valentine’s days, she thinks of the
holiday as a normal day and doesn’t do
anything special.
As a clerk of GSA, she is very
involved with the club. She says that one
year, the club threw a mock spring fling.
She remembers, “GSA did a spring fling
around Valentine’s Day, with a different
name.” Rissolo comments that the dance
was both fun and memorable.
Em remembers attending an-
other dance when she was younger. She
says, “We had the Happy Hearts Dance
at my old school.” She remembered her
and the other kids having an enjoyable
time.
Like Buersmeyer ‘28, Emi-
ly once had a friend who made her a
basket of treats for Valentine’s Day. She
says, “One friend made me a basket with
a giant candy bracelet, a stuffed animal,
and chocolates.”
Nora Abd El Kader ‘27 says,
“For Valentine’s Day I’m planning on
spending the day with my friends. I ha-
ven’t decided what we will do yet but we
are either going to go out for brunch or
dinner, or we might bake treats together,
and eat dinner at someone’s house.”
Abd El Kader says, “Normally
I would go out with friends and have a
‘Galentine’s Day’ celebration or spend
the day with my family.”
Abd El Kader ‘27 also celebrat-
ed Valentine’s Day when she lived in
Germany. “A few years ago I spent Val-
entine’s Day with my family and another
close family in Paris,” Abd El Kader says.
“It was super fun, but very crowded.”
Nora also celebrates with her
family. She says, “For my family, I usu-
ally give them chocolates and flowers,
but my mom always gives my sister and
I bigger gifts, and we return the favor for
her.”
Although Valentine’s Day can
still be a romantic celebration, many
students and teachers show that it can be
just as fun when celebrated platonically
with friends and family members.
