Ah, Valentine’s Day. Everywhere you look, it's hard to ignore the heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, the bouquets of roses, and the gimmicky teddy bears with hearts in their hands. Valentine’s Day has been around since ancient Roman times and is a celebration of love in all its forms. For many, this day is a special time to express their love and appreciation to those they care about. For others, it's just another day of the week to get through.
Valentine's Day is a popular holiday celebrated in many countries around the world, and it has become increasingly associated with the creative and cultural industries. Companies in the fashion and beauty industries create special products designed to make people feel especially romantic during the holiday, while media outlets create content and advertising pieces that capture the spirit of the day. The music industry creates special romantic collections of songs, and the film industry creates romantic films and documentaries. With this in mind, we asked around to see the unique and creative ways in which CCI students are marking the occasion.
In speaking to Pamela Coelho, a Senior Business Major and CCI/Advertising double minor, she mentioned that when planning her Valentines Day activities, she wanted to do something unique and thoughtful with her friends to celebrate the holiday. For February 15th, she reserved a pottery making session at Color Me Mine in Tustin– a pottery studio that offers a wide variety of ceramic pieces that customers can paint and take home. Being a senior, Pamela is eager to make memories with her friends and have a personalized memento to remember their last semester together. She hopes to follow up their creative session with a trip to the local movie theater to watch the new Avatar film called Avatar: The Way of Water and end the day with a trip to the frozen yogurt shop.
As a senior Business major who is also a CCI minor, I myself have Valentine's Day plans in mind with a creative bend. I wanted to do something unique and thoughtful with my friends to celebrate the holiday. For February 15th, I reserved a pottery making session at Color Me Mine in Tustin– a pottery studio that offers a wide variety of ceramic pieces that customers can paint and take home. Being a senior, I am eager to make memories with my friends and have a personalized memento to remember our last semester together. I hope to follow up our creative session with a trip to the local movie theater to watch the new Avatar film called Avatar: The Way of Water and end the day with a trip to the frozen yogurt shop.
Rebecca Day, a Senior Business Administration major and CCI minor, expressed her indifference about Valentine's Day. Rather than viewing it as a day for romantic love, she believes that it is more important to show appreciation for people every day. Despite this, she and her friends are planning to celebrate the holiday by going to Plaza park in the circle, indulging in Valentine's Day-themed treats such as pizza, homemade rice krispy treats, and chocolate-covered strawberries, and creating friendship bracelets and custom canvas paintings for one another.
Rebecca also believes that Valentine's Day is a great opportunity to practice self-care. She plans to spend the earlier part of the day alone indulging in activities that make her feel fulfilled, such as reading her new Colleen Hoover book “It Starts with Us” and going for a walk around the neighborhood while listening to her favorite crime podcast: Your Own Backyard. Ultimately, Rebecca plans to use Valentine's Day as an opportunity to celebrate the love she has for herself and her friends.
Tatiana Haynes, a Junior majoring in SSC and minoring in CCI with an Earth and Its Environment-themed inquiry, is enjoying some creative fun with her roommates. They are baking mini heart-shaped cakes and decorating them with love-themed decorations and top it off, they are writing small love poems to accompany their creations. Meanwhile, Hailey Tovar, a Junior majoring in Business Administration and minoring in CCI, is preparing a festive cheese board with an array of cheeses and accompaniments such as fresh fruit, crackers, nuts, olives, jams, while she and her roommates make friendship bracelets.
Finally, Kaja Bingham, a Senior PR & Advertising & Entertainment Marketing major and CCI/Graphic Design double minor, encourages us to consider the message that Valentine's Day truly conveys. She believes that "mass produced cheaply made products and gifts fill shelves to meet demands," and that "in CCI we often consider sustainability and ways to reimagine wasteful or harmful business practices." Rather than celebrating this holiday in the way it has in the past, Bingham suggests that people can celebrate Valentine's Day in a sustainable way, such as giving homemade gifts, buying organic or potted plants, purchasing fair trade chocolates, and choosing ethically sourced jewelry. With these basic ideas, people can celebrate Valentine's Day creatively with the creative and cultural industries in mind.
Valentine's Day is a day to celebrate love in whatever form it may take. Whether it be romantic love, friendship, or self-care, it is a special day to appreciate those we care about. CCI students are making the most of this day by celebrating their love in creative and meaningful ways. If you are feeling inspired to do something today, it isn't too late, you can check out local event calendars, like this one for Orange (https://enjoyorangecounty.com/valentines-day-events/) or maybe just host your own rom-com film festival with your friend. No matter how you choose to celebrate the day– or not, we wish you a Happy Valentines Day.