I can recall exactly what I did for Valentine’s Day every year since I started dating. The memories range from being overly romantic to downright sad. One year, a guy I met two months before moving to England flew over from America and showed up on my doorstep with roses; another year, I stayed in and scraped at a tube of cookie dough with a spoon while muttering jealous obscenities at Rachel McAdams in The Notebook.

Although I can remember these occasions clearly, I have never reflected on what these instances mean in relation to my love life. Something simply happened (or, to my dismay, didn’t) on Valentine’s Day, and I would think, “That was that,” before moving on with my life and resuming my normal dating habits for the rest of the year.

But it’s important to analyze how you approach the one holiday that deals specifically with love, as your feelings toward Valentine’s Day reveal much about your opinions on love, and your actions on this day could be read as being doubly significant due to the extra weight that V-Day, with all its expectations, carries.

By now, everyone has their own stories of how they spent this year’s Valentine’s Day. Now that the hazy pink and red smoke has cleared, what do you make of what happened last night? What exactly does it mean when a guy asks you out to dinner on Valentine’s Day? What does it mean if a girl accepts? What if you didn’t go on a date at all?

I think girls generally fuss over Valentine’s Day more than guys do. Most guys don’t fret over the possibility of being without a date on Valentine’s Day.

The other day, my girlfriend and I were bemoaning that we were dateless on Thursday, while our guy friends sat around and shrugged at our offhand comments. A few of the guys at the table didn’t even realize Valentine’s Day was coming up until we started talking about it. But surprisingly, once we all started talking about it, the conversation yielded some new discoveries about what guys really do think about Valentine’s Day.

What’s intriguing about the Hallmark holiday is that it’s the one time of the year that guys read more closely into gestures than girls do. Many girls enjoy celebrating the holiday for the holiday’s sake; however, for most guys, Valentine’s Day is an opportunity to make a point, to show someone they really want to be more than friends with them — the person, not the holiday itself, spurs any gestures on their part.

Unless there’s a reason guys want to take out a girl on Valentine’s Day, they probably won’t do it — why bother with the hassle if they could do it at another time with less difficulty? That being said, asking someone on a date usually signifies that there’s genuine interest there.

“You have to make reservations in advance. You have to make sure the food tastes good. You can’t keep the chocolates in your pocket too long. You have to get flowers and a nice gift. You have to make sure the night goes smoothly — God, now that I think of it, it’s like a mini-wedding,” one of my guy friends shared.

The question was then redirected to the girls. I thought about it for a while and realized that I had gone on some Valentine’s dates “just because,” and my decisions were heavily based on my reluctance to be alone on the holiday.

It’s kind of like a mega shoe sale — girls might go to just “check out” the merchandise, regardless of whether or not they need more shoes, whereas guys will only endure the crowd of customers if a particular pair of loafers they have been eyeing might be there. Valentine’s Day is not just some arbitrary day to go on a date: The holiday, with all its inherent expectations, necessitates that the date is well-planned and organized — things guys probably wouldn’t do unless they their date is well worth the hassle.

This was all news to both me and my girlfriend. And I had one last burning question in the back of my mind — What do you make of the “platonic” date then? The “we-both-hate-Valentine’s-Day-so-let’s-hate–it-together” solidarity night? All the guys started cracking up in a har-har-I’ve-tried-that-angle-before manner. The male consensus? Get this: He’s secretly hoping that you’ll reconsider his potential as a mate, not just as a friend.

So it’s clear: When a guy asks a girl out on Valentine’s Day, it’s definitely a stark show of interest — unlike the other 364 days of the year, there is no ambiguity about it. What does it mean when a girl accepts? Well, you know what they say — a girl can never have enough shoes. Guys, at this point, evaluate whether your date truly considers you as more than a friend.

There is some ambiguity still there, in regards to whether or not she’s interested — depending on how the night went, there’s a chance you’ve just become her new favorite shoes, or you could also very well be that questionable pair of ill-fitting heels that were a great deal so she decided, “Hey, why not.” I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but at least I’m warning you, right?

At any rate, Valentine’s Day has come and gone, and you have either survived or enjoyed another year. If you had a date, be sure to thank the planner, considering the trouble they went through on this frenzied day. If you didn’t go out, don’t sweat it — at least there’s one thing to look forward to every year the day after the lovers have done their necking: discounted chocolates.

Jane Yu is a senior in the College. She can be reached at yu@thehoya.com. Between the Sheets appears every other Friday in The Guide.