Sophomore Annabelle Yang and freshman Samantha Lin, who have been friends for over 10 years, said they are looking forward to a different kind of celebration on Feb. 14: “Galentines Day.” The term originated from the television show “Parks and Recreation”, originally aired in 2010, and refers to the celebration of specifically female friendships, but today it can be referred to when addressing any kind of platonic relationship.

According to Yang and Lin, their friendship can be celebrated in small, but impactful ways such as simple text messages, sharing posts or meeting up and talking in person when possible. 

Yang and Lin are not alone. Senior Jessica “Jesse” Cooper said she celebrates friendship every day. 

“To me, it is extremely important that my friends know how much I love and appreciate them,” she said. “I am a major card writer, so I often write letters and tell (my friends) how much I appreciate them.” 

For her part, Yang said she appreciates the ease of platonic relationships rather than romantic ones.

“In platonic or friendly relationships, it feels more laid back, as you can enjoy moments as they come,” Yang said. “Some may even say that platonic relationships provide more freedom in and out of the relationship than romantic ones.” 

Whatever kind of relationship a person has—platonic or romantic—interpersonal relations teacher Faith Dalton said students should understand any new relationship can take up valuable time and students need to learn to balance their relationships with other obligations and other relationships.

Dalton said via email, “When you start a romantic relationship, you won’t be able to hang out with your friends like you used to do because now you have another relationship that requires your time/effort.” 

Dalton said between romantic and platonic relationships, there is not one that is more important than the other. 

“Both are needed for different purposes so they can’t be compared as to which one is most important,” she said. “There are pros (and) cons to each type of relationship and again they each need a differing amount of our time at different times.” 

For her part, Lin said she tries to split her time evenly between romantic and platonic relationships to attempt an equivalent balance. 

“If I want to talk to my friends then I’ll do that,” Lin stated. “If I’m talking to someone I like then I’ll (just) do that, too. It’s whatever I feel like doing since I know I’m not really choosing between the two. I guess you could say I split the time evenly.”

Cooper said both types of relationships are important to her.

“I think it’s really important that the two relationships I have coincide with one another,” she said. “Both relationships contribute to a major part of my life so it’s important that I spend time with both so that I can be balanced in everyday life.