It’s cuffing season, and love is in the air as Townsend Harris students channel their inner lovebirds and share their fantasies of the perfect date. As Valentine’s Day inches closer and closer, students begin to make plans with their significant others and close friends to make this day one to enjoy. 

Senior Kaitlin Kaii told The Classic that for her ideal date, she doesn’t care about going to a restaurant and having to spend absurd amounts of money just to say “I love you” to someone. The perfect date for her is for the experience, not the aesthetic, she said. Kaitlin said she’d rather spend time with someone in a familiar setting than go out somewhere extravagant.

Senior Joyce Ke shared a similar sentiment, saying that  “the energy it takes to plan an extravagant event is better spent at home, playing Minecraft or Roblox.” 

Freshman Fariba Akter said, “It would be nice if we were to go to an arcade, just because it’s a nice, fun, and easy way to spend time with the other person. Then afterward, we can go for a walk and talk.”

On the other hand, some people love the idea of dates that are more out there.  Junior Vivian Chen described her perfect date as something that is memorable. She wants someone to plan out an entire day for her and take her somewhere special. Vivian said she wants to “see something that when [they] pass by it again will be reminded of the special moments shared there,” she said. In a similar vein, Freshman Kamryn Ellison described her perfect date as receiving flowers, getting picked upas she leaves school, and being taken to dinner, so long as “the other person pays for the meal.” 

Sophomore Hayden Wong said he would bring his loved one on an adventure around New York. Likewise, the perfect date according to freshman Sheikh Sharaf would be just to “aimlessly walk around the big city with no real set destination.” 

Junior Jialin Chen sees herself having the most fun at a scary event. “Navigating through a Haunted House, in itself, is exciting, but going on a date there makes it so much more enticing,” she said. “It’s ironic how two things as different as love and fear go hand in hand this way, but they just do.” Freshman Sebastian Arboleda’s idea of a perfect date is simply to do something that both people find enjoyable. He said,“For me, it’s just not worth being on a date if one of the people isn’t happy.”

Sophomore Ella Quan thinks of the perfect date as a destination that’s fun yet soothing. To her, being with a loved one doesn’t need to be thrilling and full of adventure. Ella would love to have a simple afternoon, for example, at the beach. 

Staying on the theme of the great outdoors, sophomore Samira Li’s ideal date would be running in the rain. Samira said, “The whimsical feeling of the rain on your skin while laughing so hard is magical and wholesome.” Similarly, freshman Niah Rowe described her perfect date as “going out to eat in a restaurant and then taking a walk at a park or a quiet place, especially since walking and talking is usually less awkward than sitting and talking.”

Art by Samira Li