Happy Valentine's Day

2017年2月21日 (火)

The other day, my coworker Joe and I were discussing the merits of Valentine’s Day. Being my usual cynical self, I dismissed it as the original Hallmark holiday (Hallmark is a brand of birthday/ holiday cards in North America.) Even worse than Valentine’s Day, I continued, is White Day, which was clearly created to trap young men into feeling obligated to spend money on their significant others. Both holidays are no more than commercialized celebrations of consumption, said I.

While Joe conceded that I had valid points, he countered that there is value in having a day or two a year (beyond the regular cycle of birthdays and holidays) that asks us to take a moment to recognize who the special people in our life are.

I couldn’t help but agree with him. Sure, giving chocolates and other sweets may be a contrived gesture of appreciation, but it carries meaning all the same. In acknowledging this, my cynicism melted like a Hershey Kiss on a summer afternoon. So thanks very much to those of you who were kind enough to bring gifts to the teachers here at STEP UP. We appreciate it very much!

Cheers,

Jon