Valentine Birthdays
On Thursday, February 14, hundreds of students will be walking around with gifts and candy and balloons, celebrating Valentine’s Day, but nine of the students at Armijo will be celebrating their birthday that day, too. While they all share that special day, they are very different from each other, according to their responses in a recent interview.
What do you like most about having a birthday on Valentine’s Day? What do you like least?
Matea Bayardo: I don’t really make a big deal about it, but I like it because people remember it’s my birthday. If I get gifts, I get a lot of attention and I don’t like that.
Arianna Cacuyog: I think the thing I like most is that no one really has this birthday and gets to say that they’re born on a holiday. The thing I like the least is that I’m not the only one that gets presents and the fact that Valentine’s Day is associated with chocolate and I hate chocolate.
Ana Correa Ortega: I’m not alone, I guess. It doesn’t feel like I have a birthday because it’s mostly all about the holiday.
Jazlynn De La Cruz: Most like – Chocolates; Least like – Every other girl is treated special
Maxwell Gailey: I like getting chocolate in addition to presents. There isn’t anything I dislike.
Ashlee Isaacs: The think I like most about having my birthday on Valentine’s Day is I can spend my birthday with friends and not Valentine’s Day with my boyfriend. The think I like the least is not being able to really go to dinner with my family on Valentine’s Day. I always have to go a day after because of all the couples going out for dinner on Valentine’s Day.
Dillon Mince: What I like most about having my birthday on Valentine’s Day is the presents. What I don’t like is that a lot of my family is busy on that day.
Stevie Nettles: I like that I am unique, but I hate not having a special day to myself.
Ryan Tongol: The date is on a holiday and is easier to remember. I don’t hold any particular grudges toward it.
How does having a Valentine’s birthday make things different for your birthday celebrations?
MB: I get a cake and lots of hears and love things. Other than that, it’s just like every other celebration.
AC: It makes things different because lots of places are busy and the fact that it’s a holiday yet we have school is frustrating.
ACO: It’s difficult to go out that day because everything gets crowded and overpriced.
JDLC: I can’t go out to eat because it’s always so packed and my adult family members celebrate Valentine’s Day so I don’t do much the day of.
MG: It doesn’t make anything different.
AI: When you go out to find Happy Birthday balloons, they all say Happy Valentine’s Day. Also, some people think I’m faking my birthday to get attention, to which I’m like, “Why would I fake my birthday?”
DM: It’s just another day to me.
SN: It makes it difficult to go out for dinner.
RT: Aside from the date, it doesn’t change much. I like to celebrate with modesty, usually only with my close family.
Does anyone else in your family have an unusual birthday? Who and when?
MB: My little brother Arturo Bayardo. March 17, St. Patrick’s Day.
AC: No, I’m the only one.
JDLC: My aunt – Mother’s Day.
MG: Uncle – Easter; Grandma – Father’s Day.
AI: My older sister shares a birthday with Martin Luther King, Jr. every couple of years (January 20). My little sister was born on the day that Michael Jackson died, June 25, 2009.
DM: My niece has a birthday on Thanksgiving.
RT: My brother’s birthday is February 15, but he is seven years older than me. We usually celebrate both of our birthdays simultaneously. Yes, this means we share the cake.
Does your birthday have any other special meanings?
MB: Just Valentine’s Day and my birthday.
AC: One of my middle names is Valentine and that’s because I was born on Valentine’s Day.
MG: Love, I guess.
AI: Every year my mom would give me and my sister cards and mine would say Happy Birthday and Happy Valentine’s Day and get a stuffed animal and a box of chocolates. It’s a tradition.
RT: Not really. It just happened to be on a holiday.
Have you ever had a sibling or other family member who attended (or attends) Armijo High School?
MB: Yes, my brother Arturo and my cousin Jadyn.
AC: Yes, both my brothers graduated from here, in 2015 and 2017.
ACO: Yes, my brother.
JDLC: Yes, older brother Joseph Raeff, abuelo and many tios.
MG: Dad, uncles, aunts, cousin.
AI: My mom attended for a month and my older sister for a year.
RT: No, it’s just me in my family. My brother was a Rodriguez kid.
What do you want to do when you graduate? Do you plan to go to college? If so, where?
MB: I would like to enlist in the Air Force. Yes for college but I haven’t decided which college.
AC: When I graduate, I want to go to a four-year and major in nursing to become a nurse practitioner. I plan to g go to college in SoCal in the fall.
ACO: Go to college at UC Davis.
JDLC: Go to college in SoCal.
MG: Go to college, any good Arts school.
AI: I want to study to be an astrophysicist because I think space is really cool. I want to go to a community college for a couple of years and then go to UC Davis.
DM: Work.
SN: Attend college. So far I’ve been accepted at Penn State, Michigan State, Rutgers and St. John with a major in Journalism.
RT: I’d like to go to college and invest more time into my personal hobbies. I haven’t taken serious consideration yet, but UC Davis looks nice. Maybe there.
What sports or extra-curricular activities are you involved in?
MB: I’m involved in ROTC and I would like to try out for volleyball.
AC: I am involved in cheer. This is my third year cheering, but my first year cheering at Armijo because I just transferred.
JDLC: Cheer, Leadership.
MG: Theatre.
AI: I am in Marching Band.
SN: I used to play basketball. I was in the Black Student Union.
What type of music do you like best?
MB: My music taste is all over the place. I really like oldies and bands, some new music, but not much. I’m not big with country, but it’s okay.
AC: I listen to whatever, but I like hip hop, rap and R&B the best.
ACO: I prefer K-Pop, but I enjoy all kinds of music.
JDLC: Early 2000’s, alternative rock and SOME country.
MG: Rap, R&B, rock, alternative, metal.
AI: Any kind of music really. It just depends on my mood.
DM: Rap.
SN: Everything Michael Jackson and Beyoncé.
RT: Most of the music I like is unconventional, and would be considered “weird” by most, and “not even music” by anyone above the age of 30.
If you could have your birthday any other time, when would it be and why?
MB: I wouldn’t change it. I like having my birthday on Valentine’s Day.
AC: None. I like having my birthday on Valentine’s Day and being an Aquarius.
ACO: October 31, or in October because I really enjoy the theme of Halloween and just the feel of that whole month.
JDLC: In June, because a summer birthday would be easier to celebrate with more options. Winter sucks! Or October to have a Halloween theme.
AI: I would really like to have my birthday like July 16 just so I don’t have to go to school on my birthday.
DM: I wouldn’t. The day doesn’t matter.
SN: February 15.
RT: I wouldn’t change my birthday. It’s pretty okay.
