(originally published 2/12/07 on journalstar.com)

I remember every year in grade school, we spent art class the week before Valentine’s Day making a mailbox out of a shoe-box and construction paper. This was, of course, for the Valentine’s party when you would go from desk to desk and deliver a Valentine to each of your classmates’ mailboxes.

I always spent a long time deciding which valentine went to which person. Even in boxes of My Little Pony valentines, there were definitely some more platonic messages and others that were obviously flirty. I was stressed for days deciding which boy would receive the valentine that showed a pink My Little Pony looking right at you and just said, “Be Mine” – heaven forbid that should go to the wrong person.

Then after the party I’d take my stack of little cards home and re-read each one, wondering if that person had meant something specific when they decided to write my name on that particular card. I mean, that Transformers valentine that said “Valentine, You’re High Voltage!” was so flattering that it made me blush every time I read it. I saw which card that same boy gave my best friend – it only said something like, “Have a High-Powered Valentine’s.” How impersonal. I thought she handled the low blow pretty well … almost like she didn’t notice.