Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching, and couples at Bakersfield College are preparing, or not, for this love-filled, sometimes corny, holiday.

Engineering major Aaron Guerrero, 18, and nursing student Catherine Soto, 18, have been together for about two years and one month. They said that the longer they are together, the less expensive their dates become because their comfort continues to grow.

“We’re probably just going to hang out and have dinner,” said Soto. They affirmed the idea that the date itself does not matter as long as they are together on that special day.

Some couples were never big spenders to begin with.

Computer science major Connor Osborn, 19, and history major Marcena McDonald, 20, have been together for one year. The first Valentine’s Day they spent together was not like anyone would expect.

“We like to keep things fairly simple. We couldn’t tell anyone we were dating yet, so we just sat in the bug [car] in the garage and exchanged gifts,” McDonald shared.

“I’m much more heartsie-fartsie when it comes to gifts. So I cut up little papers with cute quotes, tied them together, and put them in a jar. He gave me an iPod,” McDonald added.

Now that their relationship is known, their plans for this upcoming Valentine’s Day are different than first but no less special. Osborn and McDonald plan to go hiking somewhere near Frazier Park for Valentine’s Day this year.

“It’s super cheap. All we’re really going to spend money on are gifts and food,” Osborn shared.

Many couples are unable to see each other often so their plans for Valentine’s Days are not quite set in stone.

Engineering major Jesus Mendoza, 19, lives in Bakersfield, but his girlfriend Daisy lives out of town in Los Baños. Mendoza plans to take his girlfriend to the Fresno Zoo for Valentine’s Day.

Their dates tend to be consistently expensive for reasons Mendoza shared. “We’ve been together for almost a year, but we don’t see each other often, and when we do, we like to make up for lost time.”

Mendoza said the distance is tough to deal with, but work and school make it more tolerable. He plans to give Daisy a single rose and a promise ring for Valentine’s Day.

Like Mendoza, business major Jesus Vargas, 23, and psychology major Luz Cortez, 20, are not able to spend everyday together because they live in separate towns.

Vargas and Cortez have been together for three years and three months, and they hope to be able to see each other this year on that special day because they have not been able to spend every Valentine’s Day together because of the distance.

“We haven’t really made plans because we’re not sure, but we really do hope we’re able to spend it together as a couple,” said Cortez.

Some couples that see each other on a daily basis tend to go with the flow of their relationship and plan as they go along.

History major Eric Musselman, 19, and music major Janelle Liceralde, 21, have been together for over a year. Their relationship is very laid back, and they see each other more often than not.

Last year on Valentine’s Day, the couple went “park hopping” with a pint of ice cream, enjoyed their treat, and talked for hours.

“We’re more of a plan as we go along type of couple. All we really want is to have a nice day to ourselves. It doesn’t need to be luxurious, as long as we’re together,” Musselman stated.

“And there has to be food,” added Liceralde.

Who can argue with that?