Crushing and Getting Crushed: In Photos

Wheaties share their treasured and tragic Valentine’s Day stories. Will you do Valentine’s Day the Ryken way?

February 13, 2023
10:21 pm

Happy Valentine’s Day, Wheaties!

The Record interviewed students around campus and asked them to share their favorite Valentine’s Day memories over the years.

Read below for love advice from President Ryken, a story about writing a Valentine to God, and many more V-day shenanigans.

“When I was a kid my mom would always make us whoopie pies for Valentine’s Day. They were chocolate filled with vanilla cream and then she put heart sprinkles on them. And then my worst Valentine’s Day memory is last year when the guy I was dating tricked me into thinking he was breaking up with me so that he could surprise me with flowers and chocolate.”

“Last year I didn’t want to do the go-out-to-fancy-dinner thing, I wanted to do something more casual, more us, and so [my fiancé and I] went to Graham’s Chocolates and got raspberry chocolate chip milkshakes because they’re on theme with Valentine’s Day, but they’re not super over the top lovey-dovey. We’re sad we can’t do that this year [because we’re long distance]. We talked about going and getting our own milkshakes to keep the tradition going, but we definitely want to do that when we’re together again.”

“One Valentine’s Day there was a girl that I really liked, and I was feeling really romantic and poetic, but I couldn’t write her a Valentine’s Day card. So, I wrote one to God. And then God was my Valentine.”

“When I was little, every Valentine’s Day, my mom would always get me and my little brother something special that we could wake up to on Valentine’s Day. She’d get us candy or chocolate or something and usually gift cards for something we liked. When we were little it was the Lego Store or Target or something. As we got older it was gift cards for video games and stuff.”

“Since we were little, my grandmother would chop open this 2-liter soda bottle and she’d fill it with all sorts of treats for us. She would send it to us in the mail so we’d always get our Valentine’s Day bottle. She sent me one in the mail this year, too!”

“My favorite memory from Valentine’s Day was going to Walmart and picking out the little Valentines to give to my friends and then going and giving them out. I remember always wanting to get ones that came with little peel-off stickers.”

“Valentine’s Day is my mom’s birthday, so it is so fun. She is the biggest birthday person on planet earth, so it is so fun to get to go celebrate with her. Sometimes we’ll go out to dinner or have a fun cake. Sometimes we will go spend the night as a family at a hotel or something. One year we went to the ice castles in Lake Geneva which was super fun.”

“I wore a shirt that said Fries before Guys and all my friends knew who I had a crush on and I made the mistake of making the joke, “Oh, except for one guy.” and in the middle of the cafeteria all my friends got up and went to his table and told him that I wanted him to be my Valentine. I got up and ran to the bathroom and it was one of the most embarrassing moments of middle school ever.”

“I remember in elementary school we would decorate our Valentine’s Day box, and you’d go to Target and get 30 Valentines for your class. The coolest ones were the ones with scratch and sniff or some Avengers valentine with the stickers.”

“My mom gives me awesome chocolates every year and they’re always good. That’s a highlight.”

“Timeline-wise, I’ve only ever had one Valentine’s Day where I wasn’t single; I wasn’t allowed to date until after I graduated from high school. I was on a trip in Mississippi and she was on a trip to Costa Rica during our gap year. I bought her a puzzle from a museum. And I brought it back. That’s it.”

“My grandma used to get me chocolate on Valentine’s Day. It was really not that good. It was in a heart shaped box. It was good for the first day, and then it went bad— but at the time I was like, ‘This is awesome!'”

“My mom used to give us little princess dolls every Valentine’s morning. Different dolls every year. Our favorite princesses or characters we were into at the time or something like that.” – Avery // “Sometimes my dad would get me and my little sister little chocolates when he got my mom chocolates. When I was in high school he would get me flowers on Valentine’s Day.” – Jonsson

“Our mom would send us themed lunches. She would put cute Valentine’s cards in them and would have pink candy and the food she made us would be extra special that day. My favorite notes were the strawberry shortcake themed ones and they had a cute pun on it. She would write a note to us on the back.”

“When I was in fourth grade we had to decorate little Valentine’s Day boxes. I made mine into a hot air balloon and put the cards into the bottom.”

“My dad would always get my sister and I one of those big jumbo cards. He’d sign it and give us a form of jewelry which was really sweet.”

Anna Mares

Anna Mares is a freshman International Relations Major with a Certificate in Journalism and minor in Spanish. Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she loves drinking tea, thrifting, collecting and listening to records, photography, and her family.

Alayna Carlock

Alayna Carlock is a sophomore English literature and French double major. Though she was born in North Carolina, she grew up in different places throughout the Middle East. She enjoys reading, listening to music, and will almost always have a chai latte in hand.

Crushing and Getting Crushed: In Photos

Wheaties share their treasured and tragic Valentine’s Day stories. Will you do Valentine’s Day the Ryken way?

Anna Mares

Alayna Carlock

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