Editorial

We know it’s a week early, but a week is a good time period to reflect on your feelings of Valentine’s Day.

Don’t deny that you haven’t been thinking about it. If you’re in a relationship, you might be planning out what you want to do with your significant other. Do you keep it casual or go all out to impress them? And if you’re single, you have a few options as well: do you enjoy your singleness, or do you work up the courage to ask out that person you’ve had the hots for since that time your hands accidentally brushed against each other while passing a test forward last semester?

This so-called “holiday” puts a lot of pressure on both sexes, especially in college, whether we admit it or not.

And why is that?  Maybe it has to do with that feeling called “love.” There are tons of movies, songs, books and real-life relationships that all testify to the power of love, both its good and its bad side. Love can be great, but it can also be terrible.

We can either thrive off of love and experience eternal happiness or be hurt so viciously that we close ourselves up and become cynical, doubting people.

And where do you find love? Well, you have to start dating. Today’s generation is not the best at dating. We’re more of a hook-up culture; sexual gratification first, relationship afterwards (maybe). But that’s not how it’s supposed to work.

The benefits of dating someone is that you can test out whether you might actually genuinely like someone, instead of being singularly attracted to their hot bod. You can’t build a long-lasting meaningful relationship based on just sex alone.

Dating can be scary, because you don’t know whether or not you’ll be accepted. But think of it this way: Dating is like applying to colleges. You’ll get accepted to some, and rejected by others. The rejection hurts, but you move on and get over it anyways. It (usually) works out better in the long run. For inspiration about the dating scene, check out the interview in The Vine with Stag alum, Evan Barden.

Whatever your plans are for Valentine’s Day, whether it be to go on a date or embrace your single self, you should give it 100% percent and stick with your decision.

With that being said, the lovely ladies of The Mirror will be spending their V-day editing next week’s issue of the newspaper. Stop by the office with some chocolate and flowers to cheer us up after your dates or fun solo nights out – we’re sacrificing our romantic lives to bring the news to campus. The least you could do is give us some candy…please?