My 15th Valentine

The year was 2007; I was in grade 9th and 15 years old. It was Urdu class right before the lunch break. Little did I know that it was going to be my first act of rebellion.

It was the day I learned that the people in power aren’t always right, and that sometimes you have to stand up to them.

One of my classmates casually remarked that, ‘Sir, today is Valentine’s Day’; that’s it. He did not say, ‘ I want to celebrate Valentine’s Day or God forbid ‘Will you be my Valentine’. He just said, ‘Sir, today is Valentine’s Day’.

I can still see the look on our teacher’s face, the man had been making lewd jokes all year long, but suddenly he was outraged at the mere mention of this.

So, I called him out on it. I told him that his hypocrisy was dangerous, that his flip-flopping between being laid-back and being strict was a threat to students.

I wasn’t afraid to speak truth to power, and I wasn’t about to let him bully my classmate for something as innocent as acknowledging the Valentine’s Day.

Now I do not really care whether you choose to celebrate it or not. I am not defending the celebration of Valentine’s Day. Do what you wish to do but the mere acknowledgement of a universally recognized day is making you furious then there is something wrong with you.

That moment taught me a valuable lesson about authority and morality. It showed me that sometimes you have to challenge the status quo, even if it’s uncomfortable or risky. And it gave me the confidence to keep doing that throughout my life, in both my personal and professional relationships.