Whether you spent Valentine’s Day with your significant other or decided to stay home and binge-watch your favorite Netflix show, North Platte High School’s Hug-a-Heart took a twist this year and was here for both sides. It was a week dedicated to sending cute, gooey things to your crush without them knowing, or maybe deciding that it was too risky and to pass.
This year, NPHS Student Council decided to take a turn from all the typical lovey-dovey that February brings, and focus more on mental health, hosting the first-ever Love Yourself week. “Every year State student council sponsors a theme, and this year it was mental health, so we tied ours in with Hug-a-Heart,” said Student Council President senior Jenna Hoover.
The whole school started off the week with encouraging sticky notes posted on the south wall of the lunch room. Feb. 5 was celebrated with Smarties sent around to all the classrooms during bulldog time.  “We didn’t really know how everything would go, but it was really fun,” said Hoover.
Wednesday was celebrated with stickers full of love. Then, to get back to the lovey-dovey part, Thursday was “crush”-ing it. Students had the opportunity to send a can of Orange Crush to their boo. “We didn’t really know how much we’d make, but the Crush sales were popular,” said Hoover.
All lovey-dovey set aside, this was a week dedicated to yourself. “We want to let people know that they’re not alone,” said Hoover.