Low Self Esteem Issue 14
                          Why I HATE Valentine's Day
                         Written By: Sarah Amy Freitas
                                Feb. 25th, 1997

                               [*] LSE NEWS [*]

  First Of All,  I'd Like To Say That You  Can Find Issues Of Low Self Esteem
On   The  Following  FTP  Site:  FTP://FTP.EText.Org/pub/Zines/LowSelfEsteem,
Thanks  To  The Operators  Of The  EText  Archives  For  Giving  This  T-File
Collection A Home.   You May Also Request  An Issue By Writing EMail To Me At
The  Following  Address:  PARKER_LEWIS@HOTMAIL.COM,  You  May  Send  Me  Mail
Concerning Comments,  Flames,  Or If You Want To Write Something For Low Self
Esteem.

  I'd like to first say that my name is Sarah and this is my first attempt to
write something for Low Self Esteem. I'm 15 years old and from Massachusetts,
USA.  And I am what most people call UGLY, a loser, a reject, a geek, a nerd,
and any other name that they can think of.

  This issue is going to be about why I hate Valentine's Day.   I hate almost
all holidays,  but Valentine's Day is one  in particular that  I can't stand.
Why  do I hate it so much?   Because the focus  of the day is on LOVE.   Boy-
friends, girlfriends, lovers, husbands, wives...  I can't stand anything like
that.  On Valentines Day,  I didn't even wear red and white,  the traditional
Valentine's Day colors.  Instead, I dressed completely in black to express my
hate for that day.

  If  you are a really cool  and popular person,  you might ask,  "Why do you
hate Valentines Day?".  Well, if you're a really cool and popular person then
why are you reading this zine anyway? But, if you must ask, I hate it because
I have NOBODY.  I have no boyfriend, and I never have.  I didn't receive any-
thing from any guy for Valentine's Day, not even a card.   I also didn't give
anything,  because if I did I would probably get laughed at by the guy and he
would probably throw the  present in my face.   I am also not invited  to any
Valentines Day parties. In all my life every Valentines Day I've stayed home.
Any other loser or reject can probably relate to me.  It SUCKS.

  It all starts about a  week before Valentine's Day.  It seems like everyone
is trying to get a boyfriend or girlfriend.   Well,  the cool people and cool
people wannabes are trying. Most of the losers, rejects, and geeks don't even
try.  They know that they will be just turned  down and don't feel like going
through all the humiliation.   But we still have to listen to the people with
luck talk about "Oh...I'm going with him this Valentine's Day", and "Ooooooh,
I'm getting her a teddy bear!".  It really gets sickening.

  Once THE DAY finally comes,  I hate having to be around all the cool people
getting the attention. At school, everyone was giving each other cards, teddy
bears, flowers, balloons, kisses, you name it. Well, everyone except me. It's
a bad feeling to stand in the background of all this.If you've never had this
feeling,  just think of being in an elevator  with a couple that was  kissing
like mad.  You have no choice but to be near them.  It's hard to describe the
feeling. It's kinda embarassing (and maybe even makes you a little jealous?).
I  know that  you're going to think "Well,  you see couples everyday".   But,
Valentine's Day makes  it all worse because it's a  special day for that kind
of stuff.

  Now you may think that if I had a boyfriend I would think differently about
Valentine's Day and say that it was the best day in the world. If you want to
know the truth, you're probably right. But I want to warn you, if you had the
best Valentine's  Day of your life  this year,  don't be excited  about  next
Valentine's Day.   Your boyfriend/girlfriend  might break up  with you,  your
husband/wife might get a divorce,  the boy/girl in the next  house will  stop
bringing you roses, anything could happen. So maybe you should save this zine
until next year or the years after,  because one Valentine's Day you  may not
be so lucky, unless you're the luckiest person in the world.

I think I already wrote too much, so I'm going to stop writing here.  I doubt
that I will have a boyfriend next Valentine's Day or any day at all.I checked
the calendar, Valentine's Day is on a Saturday next year.  That means I won't
have to go to school and see all the love going on.  I'm going to stay in bed
all day next V-day.