Valentine’s Day. Love Day. National Cuddle Day.

I’m-going-to-spend-a-substantial-amount-of-money-to-show-you-how-much-I-care-Day.

No matter what you call it, Feb. 14 is slowly approaching and

couples young and old are becoming recognizant of the love they

share.

Valentine’s Day. Love Day. National Cuddle Day. I’m-going-to-spend-a-substantial-amount-of-money-to-show-you-how-much-I-care-Day. No matter what you call it, Feb. 14 is slowly approaching and couples young and old are becoming recognizant of the love they share.

“I never really cared about Valentine’s Day until Jessica,” said Chase Young, a sophomore speech pathology major from Roanoke Rapids about his girlfriend Jessica Webb. “I like making her happy.”

Cheerful gazes and a playful tone is how these two love birds talked with one another about the day that is dedicated to love. Young claims that before, the only enjoyment he would get from this holiday was the sugar rush from the mounds of candy his mother would send him.

Now, over three years in a relationship, both Webb and Young agree that this holiday is only special because they have each other in their lives.

“I never had a good Valentine’s Day until he came into the picture,” said Webb, a junior chemistry major from Hollister, N.C. “He actually gave me my first good Valentine’s Day.”

The two spent their first ‘Love Day’ only as friends. Young says he was in love at first sight, but she had a boyfriend and had to accept being thrown into the friend zone. Although the two were not romantic, Webb confided to him that she never had a good holiday. With that information Young stepped to the plate and surprised his then best friend.

“I remember telling him that I never had a good Valentine’s Day and I didn’t want to celebrate,” Webb said. “Then on Valentine’s Day, he bought me a gift, a little stuffed frog that sings, and some candy. That really made me feel special, and it made me start looking at him as more than a friend.”

Not only does this holiday serve to bring out young couples that are on the path of love, but it also serves as a day to reignite old sparks or keep the spice going for those who have been in relationships for years.

George and Debra Jones have been married for 20 years and to them, Valentine’s Day is every day.

“Valentine’s Day should obviously be celebrated every single day,” George Jones, the project director for the south Atlantic region of small business transportation resource center at A&T said. “I’ve been very blessed to have a beautiful woman that has given me three beautiful kids, and has really been my soul mate, and I’m really blessed to have her in my life.”

Both couples agree that the monetary contribution to the holiday does not matter if love is not involved. All the money in the world cannot buy true affection.

“This is an opportunity to take that day to sometimes reset the importance of recognizing the gift the you have with your spouse or mate,” said Debra Clark Jones, assistant to the dean for the college of arts and sciences for strategic planning and market analysis at A&T.

“I am blessed with the fact that as a couple it really does feel like Valentine’s Day every day with him because he is very thoughtful all the time, and very conscious of the importance of living in the moment, and appreciating one another and celebrating what we share.”

After being courted at a professional function, this power couple knew that it was love at first site, even though it took over six months to go on the first date. George claims he was too nervous to talk to Debra, while she says the same thing.

“I look across and the room and saw this woman and I pointed to my friend and mouthed, that’s mine,” he laughed. “She was standing at the bar with one of her girlfriends and I got real close, but I was so nervous I didn’t say a thing and sat down.”

Debra Jones account of the story was quite similar. She says that she saw this handsome man walk into the room, and she told her girlfriend that he was very handsome, but she too was nervous to talk.

For twenty years these two have seen their fair share of ups and downs, however they say that it is through remarkable moments in their relationship that they have survived. One thing they say is that young couples need to understand is the seriousness of commitment, and the hard work that goes into making a relationship last as long as theirs.

“Love is a special thing, especially college love, young love,” said George Jones. “Love is really a multifaceted thing, it’s not just the physical attraction or the common values or even the goals. For us, we’ve been through those good times, those fun times, those travel dates, but we’ve also been through those rough times, and I think through the rough times we had to gather all the way back, and figure out what is it we love.”

He goes on to add that college students need to know the difference between show stoppers and deal breakers. Although there may be an extreme attraction, one must realize things that they cannot tolerate in order to have a successful relationship.

Aside for this holiday being dedicated to others, Debra Jones says it is most important to show yourself love.

“On Valentine’s Day, you have to think about self love too,” she said. “Loving yourself enough to feel comfortable with who you are as you look to being in a relationship with others.

What you value is most important, and being clear is critical because so many other things fade in time.”

Both couples agree that Valentine’s Days comes and goes, but the day truly means nothing if they didn’t have that special bond with their significant other.

“The greatest backbone is your wife,” George Jones said. “I’m extremely grateful.”

“With our relationship it’s not just boyfriend and girlfriend. He’s my best friend.,” said Webb. “If I were to lose him it wouldn’t be oh that’s just my ex-boyfriend, I would be losing my best friend. To think about that, it is hard to grasp.”

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• Kelcie McCrae, Editor in Chief