Opinion

For all the lovers

Around the middle of February every year, the world’s crazy, enamoured people rejoice: no feat in the name of love is too outlandish, for it is Valentine’s Day! But most people love to hate Valentine’s Day, saying it’s overrated, over commercialized and unnecessary, as couples who are truly in love can express this on any other day just as well.

The trouble, though, is more often than not they don’t do it enough. After the fairy dust in a relationship has settled, people often start believing they no longer have to impress their Significant Other (SO), assuming that they know exactly how their partner feels about them. That’s a dangerous step. The next thing you know, you’re growing a beer-belly, trading in your slacks for sweats (‘why do I need to look good? I’ve got a girlfriend/boyfriend now!’) and spending date-nights surfing the web as your SO sits across from you on the couch. You’ve just killed romance, with an innocent assumption.
Sure you needn’t wait for Valentine’s Day to surprise your SO with flowers or a romantic dinner, but it’s the perfect opportunity to do so if you’re the manly guy who fears ruining his reputation by getting all mushy at random times, yet still wants to show his love. On Valentine’s Day even the toughest blokes can enjoy baking some heart-shaped cookies and getting crafty with pink stationary. 

As for the over-commercialized part, true, but only if you’re too lazy to think of original ways of surprising your partner. Creativity is easy – just stay away from the shops. Think of things you can do without spending any money, like home-cooked, candlelit dinners or hand-made Valentine cards. The more cliché it is the better: people forget that there’s a reason why cliché things are cliché in the first place.
Finally, there are those who love to bash Valentine’s Day because they’re single. To these people one can only say: Lighten up! When you were in a relationship, getting all lovey-dovey with your (now ex-) partner, all your friends endured it. So now that you’re single, just celebrate your independence and freedom on this day instead. Or just be happy for other couples. After all, St. Valentine wasn’t considered the most romantic Saint because he was a ladies’ man, but rather because he made other couples happy by performing secret marriages. If he had been all sulky about being single himself – being a priest and all – there
wouldn’t even be a day for all lovers to celebrate.
As a romantic at heart, I’m tired of all the scepticism surrounding Valentine’s Day. I don’t want to justify wanting to celebrate it or hide my excitement. Yes, I secretly look forward to surprising my Valentine and deep down inside I hope he’ll do the same. If I don’t have a special someone to spend the day with, I enjoy celebrating with friends or simply treating myself. Whether or not you like to celebrate the day of all lovers is up to you, but if you don’t, there’s no need to ruin it for the rest of us.

Olga Motsyk, from Ukraine, is a BSc aerospace engineering student.

 

Vervang prikborden door beeldschermen en laat studenten informatie downloaden op hun campuskaart. Dat is het idee achter de papierloze campus van ir. Spark Xie en zijn team.

De hoeveelheid drukwerk die jaarlijks op de diverse prikborden belandt en die uitgereikt wordt in de vorm van flyers is verbijsterend, net zoals de hoeveelheid water en energie die ermee gemoeid zijn. Volgens Spark Xie kan dat makkelijk beter. Overal hangen beeldschermen op de campus. Gebruik die in plaats van de prikborden en zorg dat studenten de informatie kunnen downloaden op hun mobieltje of op hun campuskaart als ze geïnteresseerd zijn.
Hoewel de inzending in de categorie ‘out-of-the-box’ zit, is de technologie volgens Xie een ‘eenvoudige combinatie van bestaande technologieën’. Zo vergezocht is het niet. Tijdens zijn pitch riep Xie op om in Delft de eerste papiervrije campus ter wereld te beginnen. En om van de campuskaart een ‘greencard’ te maken.
Xie werkt vol overgave bij de 3TU-master sustainable energy technology (TNW). Daarnaast blijft hij met een aantal vrienden werken aan het papierloze communicatiesysteem dat, daar is hij van overtuigd, een grote toekomst heeft.

Editor Redactie

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