And of course, I love to research things and so I went to look up the history behind Valentine's Day. The origins of the day aren't actually very well-known and the accepted story may be completely fabricated. But the most popularly believed story is that Saint Valentine was a priest under the reign of Emperor Claudius II. Claudius declared that young men in the army were forbidden to marry. Of course, many of the men still had sweethearts they wished to wed so Saint Valentine continued to marry couples in secret. At least two Valentines were martyred by Claudius on February 14th in different years of the 3rd century.
In Rome, during the same time, there was a pagan festival celebrating Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage and fertility. This festival was called Lupercalia and was held for three days, between February 13 and 15. During this festival, men slaughtered goats, dipped the hides in the animal's blood and then slapped women with the hides for fertility. Oh those wacky pagans.
Of course, when Christianity took over Rome, they had to rework the pagan holidays to fit in with their religion (goodbye solstice, hello Christmas). So to honor Valentine (supposedly) they created Saint Valentine's Day, the name of which was shortened over time. But how was romance tied to the day? Well in Lupercalia, the men would choose the name of a woman to be paired with for the festival (and maybe longer if they hit it off) for...fertility.
Today of course, this is really a holiday for the flower companies and candy people, as well as Hallmark. But it's also a day to just show you care. You don't have to have a boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse/lover to show that you care. You can offer to walk your neighbor's dog, give your babysitting services to your aunt (or parents depending on how young your siblings are), or baking cupcakes for your classmates (or study group or co-workers (but only the ones you like ;) )).
So along those lines, I would like to recognize an organization that is showing the world it cares and does it every day. The It Gets Better Project is an organization working to show gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth that life will get better. People can be cruel, especially high schoolers and middle schoolers. Now, imagine you have something different about you that makes you stand out when all you want is to be treated like everyone else. Having a sexuality different than heterosexual is akin to being the most stereotypical geek. Basically, anyone feels the slightest inclination to make your life hell (maybe they're afraid because you're different, maybe they fear their own sexuality, maybe they're just homophobic) will probably do so.
The It Gets Better Project lets those youth know they are not alone. They give encouragement to let them know that this time of your life will not last forever. It was created in response to the suicides of so many gay teens in 2010. And many celebrities and even normal people have lent their stories as encouragement.
I fully support this project. I am straight and avoided most teasing in school since I simply didn't let potential bullies think I cared (even when I did). And I got out early through the Running Start program. But my heart goes out to every teen who has every been bullied. Every teen who dreaded school because of being tormented, who ever thought that suicide was the only way they could leave that pain behind. High school seems like it will last forever and that even after school, there's no guarantee that things will improve.
I can't guarantee things will improve, no one can promise that 100%. But once you leave the narrow slice of humanity that occupies your high school, you'll find there are more people who care, more good people in the world than bad. There'll always be people who suck, who try to bring you down. But remember that you have amazing gifts. You are an individual with so much to offer the world and we need you. The world needs you so hold your head high and remember that It Gets Better.
Happy Valentine's Day everyone.
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