Valentine’s Day comes once every year. It is about sharing unexpected acts of kindness and love. Ahead of Valentine’s Day, we asked some students from Passaic Science Academy of Science and Engineering how they spend their valentine’s day. I also interviewed my close family member who has been married for 15 years. Here are their stories on how their Valentine’s day will plan out this year. 

Even though Karina does not have a valentine this year, she decided she wanted to take part in a Galentine’s with her friends. 

“Galentine’s is a day in which women celebrate their female friendships, so this year I want to celebrate it with my bestie and a couple of other friends we have in a group.”

Galentine’s Day was created by Amy Pehler’s Parks and Recreation character Lesile Knope. She debuted the holiday in 2010 to celebrate her own female friends on Feb 13.

Karina believes celebrating Galentine’s is almost as important as Valentine’s Day. It is a day to show off your friends and how much you love them. This year she planned to go to IHOP for a little Galentine’s day brunch. 

My cousins, Hetal and James, have been married for 15 years. They love to spend a little Valentine’s Day out with their 2 kids. This year they decided they’re going to go down to the Poconos, rent an Airbnb, and spend the weekend together without the kids. They will go down to the lake, eat at a fancy restaurant and just enjoy the company of each other. James has a surprise waiting for Hetal too. 

“She’s been telling me that she wants this ring from Tiffany’s. It almost looks like our wedding band but this one will have engravings of our marriage date. This Valentine’s Day I am going to re-propose to her and just overall make her feel special.”

Hetal has been in and out of the hospital last year so it’s been hard for her to get her life back together juggling work and the kids. Overall she is very excited for this Valentine’s Day.