by Isabella Dussias

Happy winter to all! February brings us cold weather superimposed with the warmth of Valentine’s Day. In my elementary school years, winter was a time of cold days and hopeful school closings that felt as if it dragged on forever. Valentine’s Day was always a highlight—getting candy and exchanging cards with school friends broke up the doldrums of winter.

So, why do we celebrate love? Countless songs and love stories have been written about it, and there is an abundance of romantic comedies shown on TV. There is puppy love, love handles, love seat and love potions—those endearing terms are endless. There is love of country, love of friends, love of family, love of self. There are lovebugs and love birds, lovesick and love songs.

In asking my friends if Valentine’s Day is important to them as teens, I got many different responses. Some were looking forward to getting flowers or candy from a parent or from someone special. Others were excited to give a card or stuffed animal to their little brother or sister. One of my friends spends every Valentine’s Day having dinner with her grandparents. My other friend donates his time at an extended care facility.

It’s been said that “love makes the world go ‘round.” The goodness of humanity is essential to that, and love plays a fundamental role. In polling my friends, I found that the four-letter word “love” became synonymous with another four-letter word, “kind”. What we, as teens, seem to be seeking out to celebrate is the kindness and love that is inherent within us all. 

Now it’s halfway through winter. Hope you have a lovely February!

Isabella Dussias is a 17-year-old singer-songwriter/composer from New Jersey. She enjoys writing about issues that are important to today’s youth, and she believes music is an important outlet to connect people and share messages through the creativity of lyric and melody. For more information, please visit IsabellaDussias.com.