The World - Young children all around the world will share in the joy of receiving a Valentine's card at school today, but thousands more will not, learning what rejection, exclusion and unpopularity feels like. With school classes taking the time for students to make little cardboard "Valentine Mailboxes" as a desk receptacle for the cards distributed by classmates, many children will have empty mailboxes, crushing any hopes of someone actually liking them, and learn firsthand what rejection feels like.
One student, Kenny in Grade 3, spent 4 hours constructing an elaborate Valentine's Mailbox that was exact replica of the Death Star from Star Wars, complete with a pipe cleaner laser beam and Stormtrooper squad. However Kenny's excitement soon turned to sadness as he received absolutely no Valentine's cards, and has accepted the fact his Star Wars mailbox will most likely remain empty. "I thought that maybe Julie Simmons would give me a Valentine's card cause we both like Star Wars, but I guess she likes Tyler better because she gave him a card instead." Kenny remarked before replicating the Death Star explosion from Episode 4, and destroying his mailbox in a rejection fuelled anger. "Maybe the girls would have liked the Sarlaac Pit from Return of the Jedi instead." a sad and rejected Kenny whispered as he burned his crushed mailbox and plotted his revenge by becoming a millionaire computer software engineer.
Leading child psychologist Deborah Channing states that many children learn at too early an age what unpopularity and rejection is like, and thinks Valentine's Day only manifests those feelings. "Many of these kids already feel unpopular and the exchange of Valentine's Cards only reinforces those feelings and drives them deeper into rejection." Channing remarked. "They have a lifetime ahead of them of being a nerd and unpopular, so I don't see why we need to start those feelings at such an early stage in a school setting."
As all the popular kids counted and compared their overflowing mailboxes of cards and cinnamon hearts, thousands of others sat alone, dreading the idea of going home empty handed, only to get a pity Valentine's card from either their mother or grandmother. "Well, there's alway next year I guess, and at least I got a cinnamon heart that fell on the floor from Tyler's desk." a rejected Kenny said. "I just feel sad I spent all that time making 58 custom made Stormtrooper cards for all the girls that said "The force is strong with you"..oh well, I guess I'll go home and watch BattleStar Galactica to cheer myself up."
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