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HOW CUTE IS CUPID?
by
LILLIAN AGYEI
and CNN Staff
Well, well well. It's back again! The holiday for lovers (better known as Valentines Day). Many people have wondered where this holiday originated. It's not a mystery, but it's not very well known either.
First of all, let's begin with Cupid. Cupid has always played a role in the celebrations of love and lovers. Did you know that Cupid is a "he"? Well he is, and he is known as a mischievous, winged child, whose arrows would pierce the hearts of his victims and make them fall deeply in love.
In ancient Greece he was known as Eros the young son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. In Rome his mother was known as Venus.
One legend tells the story of Cupid and the human (mortal) woman, Psyche. She was known as a maiden. Venus was jealous because Psyche was so beautiful. So she ordered Cupid to take care of her and punish her like gods could do to mortals. But it turns out that Cupid fell in love with her and after a long story married her. But since she was a human being and mortal, somehow they ordered her not to look at him. Can you imagine not being allowed to look at someone you love. But anyway, Psyche thought she could handle this and was kind of happy until her sisters convinced her to look at Cupid. After all, he was her husband. So Cupid couldn't do anything bad to her but he had to punish her, so he punished her by just leaving. Their castle and gardens vanished when he left and Psyche found herself alone in an open field with nothing from the past. Especially no Cupid.
There's lots more to this story, but basically that the important parts. Later on the ending is that Cupid had to go through a lot of things and after awhile (after a lot of grief!), Cupid forgave her. So did Venus. And then to make it all work out, the gods felt bad and saw Psyche's love for Cupid and so they made her a goddess. So the moral of the story is that Cupid really loved her a lot. So that's why people say that Cupid is responsible for people falling in love and shoots people with arrows to make them fall in love.
Another question people have asked that I personally have heard all different kinds of answers to is if there ever really was a St. Valentine. Actually there was, and he was a priest of Rome during the rule of Claudius II. Claudius was a ruthless king who had banned all marriages and engagements in the Rome. When Saint Valentine found out about this, he was upset and decided to take it upon hinself to marry young couples. Claudius found out about this and sentenced Valentine to be beaten to death and to have his head cut off, which was all done on the fourteenth of Febuary. Also, during this time in Rome, feasts in honor of heathen gods, the Lupercalia were being held. During this occasion, the game name drawing would be played. Womens names would be placed into a box and men would pick a name out. Then the couples would have to stay together during the festival. Sometimes, if some people are lucky, they might like each other and stay together after the festival. Hey, maybe even get married!
But after what happened to Saint Valentine, the festival was soon changed to Saint Valentine's day instead of the Lupercalia because of the sacrifce he made for love. So the holiday was renamed in his honor. Who would have imagined: about one thousand and five hundred years later people would still be acknowledging this holiday. But hey! Cupid must still be flying high and shooting those arrows! Happy Valentine's day from me to you.
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THE COLOR OF LOVE
An Artist's Study of Red
by Larry Minetti
The color red.
A vibrant representation
Of our inner feelings.
Passion, Desire, Love.
Each shade of red
Creating a new
Level of Sensation.
Stimulating the soul
And reaching for the sky
As the color red
Transforms within our hearts.
Wondering of my Valentine and the
Giving of Red.
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MY ROMANCE WITH MATH
by Susan Auslander
I love math. I've had this romance since I was quite young. It began with enjoying all types of sports, playing cards, chess and other board games. In addition, I found myself constantly looking for patterns in both numbers and shapes. I enjoyed drawing, too, but mainly drawing geometric shapes with particular color patterns.
It became apparent in my lower grades that my favorite time of the day was either in math class, science or doing my homework involving these two subjects. Another part of the day that gave me lots of pleasure was playing my clarinet. So from an early age I wanted to be doing something involving either math or music. These feelings continued throughout my junior and senior high school years. Later, when I was no longer attending that school (which had a great math and science department), I didn't enjoy school in the same way.
By the time I was a senior in high school, I realized that mathematics was getting harder but more interesting --and that I could no longer teach myself this subject. Then later came college and I remember that first day. I was immediately motivated to become involved in some form of math from the first day I stepped onto the campus. I realized the fascination that I had with mathematics.
I became illuminated when I was taking a freshman seminar and one of the required books to read was Flatland by E. Abbott. The subtitle of this book was The Romance With Dimensions. It was a novel about the four dimensions: the land of the point that could only see points; the land of the lines that could only experience lines (two-dimensions); the land of the planes (three dimensions); and the lands of the fourth dimension and higher. It excited and intrigued me and gave me the same elation as Einstein�s theory of relativity.
Mathematics still fascinates me, and even after the 25 years I've spent teaching, my goal still remains to impart to my students the joy and enthusiasm I feel about math.
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VALENTINE'S DAY AND LOVE
by Grace Gudjoe
Valentine is a day of love,
A day that your loved ones show their love.
And my love for you is the greatest.
My love is like the pretty blue sky way up there,
My heart is trembling to meet yours just to say
The four-letter words that I want to give to you.
It might be hard to say,
But you have a hint of what it is.
To me
You are like the light
That brightens up my way
And shines on me wherever I go.
Today is Valentine's Day,
And all I have to say is
I love you.
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LOVE THROUGH THE EYES OF 9th GRADERS
Students in V12 and V14
The following excerpts on Valentine's Day and Love were taken from the essay portion of January's Computer Applications final exam. All of the essays were excellent, but because of space constraints, it was not possible to include all of them.
SALVADOR MOLINA: Love is a special feeling you get when you care about somebody a lot and you don't want anything bad happening to them. Love could also be something painful, because when you break up with your boyfriend or girlfriend it hurts.
KRYSTAL MELENDEZ: Why show someone love and give them roses or chocolate only on that day? What's wrong with every other day?
TAMARA EKE: I think love is about someone that you are connected with and you can express everything to them.
DEIDRA SORIANO: Love is a feeling that no one can describe. It can confuse a person. To some people, being in love can make them do crazy things.
CHARLES ROSARIO: I really like Valentine's Day because a lot of girls ask me to be their Valentines. Love is a big word!!! I really don't know what it means, because I never fell in love. But I know it means a lot to some people and some couples. But I love my family and my friends.
VANITY MEDINA: I never had a boyfriend on Valentine's Day, so that is something that I haven't experienced yet. I have to get someone fast, because all the cute ones might be taken. I don't want the ugly ones, which seems to be my luck. But I'll still have my mother, because she shows me true love.
THOMAS CASIANO: To me love is saying that you really care for a person. The term love is used very lightly these days, but it all depends on your perspective. Another type of love is family love. This type of love is the most unconditional love there is. Nothing can break it and nothing can spoil it. This love is almost automatic. To me, Valentine's Day is OK --nothing I'm really excited about.
JOSE VELEZ: You can love different people. It doesn't have to be a boyfriend or a girlfriend. You can love your parents, a close friend, your brother or sister, or just a close relative.
JESSICA SILVA: Love to me is only to be expressed with people you know you will hold close. Love shouldn't be used or said if you don't mean it.
JAMIE BROWN: Love sometimes can make you do wrong. When you are in love with someone, they will make you do some wild things. You will try your best to make them happy. Then they'll forget every other girl or boy they see and they only see you. Even if they're looking at someone that looks nothing like you.
ALYYAH VIZCARRONDO: Love is just another word amongst words in a dictionary. But when you grow up, you get a better understanding of it.
ABIGAIL MENSAH: I don't know what love means because I am too young. So if a boy tells me "I love you," I can't say it back because i don't know the true meaning. So we agree to just say "I like you."
KHALI BRIDGEWATER: Some people's love grows into deep caring and may lead to a relationship. Others may lead to a deep friendship. For example, I have a friend who happens to be a boy, but he's like my older brother. I can tell him anything.
DAVID ROBINSON: God wants us to unite with each other and love one another. He tries to make people come together so that we could love each other the way that God loves us.
LECHELLE LEE: You can't love anyone without respect. You have to respect that special person for who they are inside and out.
ANNA RODRIGUEZ: I think love begins in teenagers more often than in adults. Teenagers go with their instant gut, but adults like to wait and like to know for sure if what they have or feel is true love.
CHRIS MARCANO: Love is the most wonderful and important thing in the world. My new love is my sister. Ever since she was born, I just can't stop playing with her and talking about her. To me love is about having feelings and emotions.
SHIVONNA DANIELS: The way I love my parents is the way everybody should be loved.
CRYSTAL NORIEGA: Love is an unconditional feeling you have for someone even when they do something wrong to you. Everyone should love God, because He is someone that is always looking out for you even though you cannot see Him.
DESHIRE ATASHI: The greatest gift that you can give to the person or people you care about is to tell them you love them.
FATON NEZAJ: You can celebrate love any day with the person you love.
EVELYN FAUX: I think love means any time you are around a person it makes you feel good.
YASINE HUSSEIN: One person I love is my little brother. He's the one that made me understand what love means. When I am mad or sad, he always puts a smile on my face. He makes me laugh a lot. I can never stay mad at him.
LUZ FRIAS: There are times when love can be so powerful that it hurts. It hurts to see a loved one fade away. It is even worse to love and not be loved back.
BENJAMIN NSIAH: I think love is believing and trusting with your whole heart.
DONOVAN CAMPBELL: Love is when you have feelings for someone you care about. I don't mean just anyone that someone feels is out of the ordinary. I mean someone special.
RICHARD YOUNG: Love is when you buy a girl a present and ask her to be your Valentine. Then it depends on if she says "yes," because you could probably hang out after school with her. If she says "no," then you have to find another one and see if she would go out with you. If nobody wants to go out with you, then wait and see if a girl comes up to you and asks you.
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WEDDING BELLS
by Elizabeth Maybruch
Close your eyes and picture a lovely May wedding. Chances are you envision a bright-eyed beautiful young bride and groom. I doubt that when you fantacize about the perfect wedding I am standing there as the bride! However, I will be getting married this May, and in my mind at least, I will be having the perfect wedding. Most importantly, I have found the most terrific man--loving, honest, intelligent and generous--to list just a few of his qualities.
When we decided to have a party to celebrate our marriage, I found that I did and felt all the things that any younger woman would. I wanted to find the perfect place, the perfect dress, the best food and music; and I had to invite all of my friends to join in the festivities.
I can still remember going with my mom to pick out my wedding gown when I was 21. Each time I put on a dress with swirls of lace, satin or talle, I felt like a princess. This time it was just the same. When I put on the dress, I was transformed. Inside I was 16 again, thrilled to feel beautiful, anticipating how he would feel when he saw me on our wedding day.
As Valentine's Day approaches and all the stores decorate with red hearts and celebrate the feelings of love, I join in with a full heart, happy to be in love, excited to be getting married, and certain that our lives together will be as perfect as our "perfect wedding."
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WHO IS SHAKESPEARE
AND WHY IS HE AN EXPERT ON LOVE?
by DaVaughn Bryan
Why was Shakespeare such an expert on love?
In researching this subject I came across two of the must unexpected reasons why William Shakespeare could be considered the authority on the matter of love.
The first was brought to my attention by my mother. The idea that Shakespeare may have been a woman was one that had never before crossed my mind. However, upon pursuing this theory, I found that there was tremendous controversy surrounding this idea; and even though this sparked my interest and as much sense as this made, there was not enough concrete data to back up this claim.
The next explanation as to why William might have an aptitude for the romance was linked to his sexuality. Based on intensive studies done on his works, there is substantial evidence to support that he was homosexual. At first I dismissed this because I saw it as just another stereotype. However most of the evidence I have found seems to revolve around these three Shakespearean characters: The Young Man, The Dark Lady and The Rival Poet. Most of the controversy is with the 17 sonnets that were sent to �the young man�. It is suspected that the young man was either a close friend of Shakespeare or Shakespeare himself.
What has led researchers to think that was a homosexual force at work was first the overall description of the young man taken from one of Shakespeare�s sonnets:
�A woman�s face with nature�s own hand painted�
A woman�s gentle heart�
And for a woman wert thou first created��
Secondly was the subject of these sonnets, which were to convince or encourage this young man to have sexual relations with women and to start a family. These sonnets raised questions such as: why would a man need to be encouraged to marry and father children? Why would the verse written to encourage him to do so contain so many questions as to why he fails to do so of his own accord? Why would the verse fail to provide any answers to these questions and instead explore a variety of possible reasons --none of which are accepted or refused? How many men, and women, have there been who grimaced at other people�s question: �When are you going to settle down, get married and have children?�
So far there has been talk of Shakespeare being a woman --or even gay. However does this really answer the question, "Why was Shakespeare such an expert on love?" Putting his sexual preferences aside, it is my belief that Shakespeare was a mentally, emotionally and sexual open person, not at all like the typical man of his day or even ours. Whenever a person possesses this characteristic, they are bound to express this in their work.
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A DARK VALENTINE
Anonymous
Valentine's Day can be a day of happiness if you have someone. Otherwise it can be a very dark and lonely time when there is no one around or anyone who cares --when you face this day as if it was a day of reckoning, a time of darkness. That is, if there is even anyone there or if you have someone to begin with.
If you do have someone on this day because Cupid's arrows struck, love will bind you both tight and close. If not, and if you're someone like me, a person with no love, no life, and someone with no chance --then the loneliness of Valentine's Day will become completely overwhelming.
And here is some valuable advice for all those who have someone: be good to one another. Keep each other close in your hearts. You do not want to lose each other. That's what I would do, if I had someone.
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