14 February 2008: Sweet Hearts

Today is Valentine's Day. Every website I view has a temporary pink logo in honor of the day. Pink is the universal color of love. It also stimulates relaxation and acceptance. In class today, we discussed the American culture's perspective on Valentine's Day. Men feel it connotes an emotion of guilty. Women feel it connotes an emotion of romanticism. The two combine to create a more materialistic Valentine's Day. As one who has never had many Valentines, I do not glean that meaning from the day. I wore red to represent my recognition of love of all people in my life. I wished everybody a Happy Valentine's Day without sending a single card. The day almost went by without my noticing any commercialization. Until I went to work. As I passed the candy dish, there, in the midst of candy, were Necco Candy Hearts. My first memory of candy hearts is of my mother purchasing a multitude of candy heart bags starting in the beginning of February. It wasn't uncommon for at least one bag to disappear before arriving home. Candy hearts connote a special occasion for indulgence. The multitude of colors stimulate my attraction to it. I almost always eat the candy hearts by color, least preferred to most preferred. My preference has changed, but my least preferred has always been yellow. Yellow does imply happiness, but it also implies a taste of banana or lemon. The two do not usually go well with sweet things, unlike the purple and the green, which have more of a milkshake taste to them. Finally, we approach the white and then the red. The red is more of a candy taste. This order system is similar to how I eat and prefer vegetables to candy. Healthy items rank lower on the "candy" scale than do "sweets." The limited edition of these hearts makes me excited. It is specifically associated with Valentine's Day and the receipt of Valentine's from friends and family. Eating candy hearts reminds me of their expression of love towards me and my love towards them. It also is one of the few products of which I cannot limit my consumption. I over indulge in 'love,' in a way that often gives me a 'high.' On Valentine's Day, who does not want to 'get high on love?'