By Alexandria Webb
Valentine’s Day can be sweet when everything goes well, but some Grand Rapids Community College students recall some of their memories from the holiday when love connections were delayed and things went less-than-perfectly.
With so many emotions swirling around, sometimes a small gesture of kindness can be taken in a different way.
“In middle school, I had a small, tight-knit friend group, and my best friend was a guy at the time, but I wasn’t seeing anyone, so I made him a little card. I didn’t think anything of it at the time cause I was 9, but it said ‘we’re more than just friends’ and then on the inside it was like ‘we’re a small gang.’ And I found out later he was so mad at me cause he had a crush and I didn’t know. I felt so bad,” said Casey Tett, 20, of Grand Rapids.
Lucy Smchiedt, 18, of Grand Rapids, gave insight about her high school’s Valentine’s Day traditions, which involved sending flowers, similar to candy grams, and recalled a funny incident that happened.
“Last year, I thought my boyfriend got me flowers… because my high school did this secret valentine thing and somebody gave me flowers and I was like, ‘oh he got me flowers,’” Schmiedt shared. “And then later I found out it was actually from the guy that I really, really, didn’t like.”
Unfortunately, sometimes Valentine’s Day will bring up memories of someone who didn’t work out. Coetis Gillen, 20, of Grand Rapids, shared his own experience.
“I did spend a lot of money on a girl and took her out, and she left me right after,” Gillen shared. Despite the unfortunate situation, instead of thinking negatively, he said, “I don’t take it as a loss, I just take it as a lesson learned.”
Love is not always shown right away. Sometimes it takes many years to reveal itself.
Alan Ramirez, 19, and Stephanie Garcia, 20, both of Grand Rapids, have been dating for about five months. They explained that they went to high school together but didn’t start dating until they were in the same college class at GRCC.
When asked if they had any Valentine’s Day stories, Ramirez recalled getting those little cards you got when you had elementary school Valentine’s Day parties. Then this had Garcia wondering.
“We might have been in a class together when we were little, and I think we were in a classroom when we were younger, and we had one Valentine’s Day,” said Garcia.
Remember to hold onto those memories, even the ones where things didn’t go according to plan. Those memories can bring back lessons that were learned or laughs that can be shared among others.
