Maddie Shoop-Gardner
On Valentine’s eve, after Carlmont High School has mostly emptied out, my Associated Student Body Recognition Commission works in C-Hall, the school’s central hallway, taping string to the ceiling and spacing paper cutouts along the corridor.
By the next morning, 2,400 names hang from hand-cut paper of soft pinks and deep reds, one for every student.
Before they ever go up, the hearts take months to prepare, beginning in the early stretch of a still-warm October. We print, cut, write, hole-punch, tie string, sort and re-sort, repeating the same tedious and time-consuming steps for the majority of the year. Still, the commission commits to the task, year in and year out.
Valentine’s Day carries a complicated meaning for teenagers. It is marketed as a celebration of romance, propped up by an entire industry of store displays packed with an endless supply of roses and candy. It is treated as an occasion for couples who emphasize gestures that can be seen, a form of proof that someone chose them, and they are happy. Although most don’t flaunt with the intent of putting others down, inevitably, for students who are single, unsure or simply uninterested, Valentine’s Day can feel exceptionally exclusionary.
But it hasn’t always felt this way.
In elementary school, I always looked forward to Valentine’s Day. Every year, the class took turns walking around the room delivering valentines to the shoebox “mailboxes” eagerly set on our desks. When we opened them, the classroom was filled with glittering store-bought cards, the occasional elaborately crafted handmade one, and my personal favorite, dozens of little heart-shaped candies.
It wasn’t about romance. What did we know about romance? We were in elementary school. For us, Valentine’s Day was a celebration of friendship. And the best part (aside from the sugar rushes) was that everyone was included.
That is what makes the paper hearts special now. There’s no need to request one or fit into a particular social group to receive it. Each student arrives at school on Valentine’s Day to see their name, handwritten like everyone else’s, displayed at eye level in a common area. The hearts create a moment of recognition: Before grades, deadlines or isolation set in, every student is noticed. In a school environment often defined by competition, the small gesture feels genuinely important.
Of course, our once-a-year hallway hearts don’t replace the meaning of romantic relationships. Instead, they serve as a valuable tool of inclusion, challenging the belief that recognition is only meant for a select group. They offer a version of Valentine’s Day that replicates the pleasant memories that many of us hold — one that values inclusion.
Maddie Shoop-Gardner is a junior at Carlmont High School in Belmont. Student News appears in the weekend edition. You can email Student News at news@smdailyjournal.com.
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(1) comment
What a wonderful tradition and thank you so much for sharing it with all of us.
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