Love, Love, Love.

What does love mean? There is no specific definition for love; every person has a different idea of what it means. Since last Sunday was Valentines, the most romantic day of the year, it made me start to think about what love really means. There are two different types of love; you either love the person or you are in love with the person. For example, I love my friends and my family, but I am not IN LOVE with them. Saying those three little words “I Love You” means to so much in a relationship, but why or how did that even start? Obviously we know why it means so much because in my opinion that is pretty much saying that they will do anything for you, put your happiness before them in life, and that they can’t live without you. When someone says that little phrase is a big step in a relationship because it is hard thing to say and to be sure about it. You also worry about how your partner is going to react or how they feel about you.

The other day we were talking about love and the difference between the meaning of receiving a hand written letter or a letter written in email. This was an interesting topic because there were legit points from both sides of the argument. On the side where some of the classmates think it is cuter or more meaningful to receive a hand written letter had a good point on the amount of time it would take that person to hand write it, think about what to write, put it in an envelope, find a stamp, and mail it. Comparing that to someone writing an email because all they really would have to do is think about what to say, type it, and push send. I feel like writing an email to someone is like taking the easy way out because it is less effort; for example you have spell check on email, but you actually have to think about your grammar when you’re writing the letter. Just think on Valentine’s Day you log into your email and open up an inbox from your lover who sent you a Valentine’s Day card they found on the internet, how you respond to that? Or let’s say on Valentine’s Day you open your mailbox in your driveway and you receive a hand written Valentine’s Day card from your boyfriend/girlfriend, how would you respond to that? If I had to chose from that situation which one I would want, I would definitely chose the handwritten Valentine’s Day card instead of the email card because I would feel like they thought more about it and maybe thought about which one I would like better.

On the other hand though the classmates who were on the side where it doesn’t matter if its hand written or emailed had valid points as well. I really like the point where one of the classmates said that it shouldn’t matter how or what you receive something it should only matter who it is from. Why should you care if someone you loved or cared about gave you flowers instead of jewelry, if it’s from someone you care about it shouldn’t matter what they give you because whatever they give you is special. Back to the email and hand written letter conflict; either way you receive the letter/email it is still their words, their feelings, and their thoughts put into it, so it shouldn’t matter how you receive it.

Love is an interesting word and can be taken as so many different ways. I think love stands for a lot of different things and there are a lot of words that people use that are right below the meaning of love. Some of the words could be: lust, infatuation, affection, etc. I feel like these words are the first glance, the gut reaction for when you see this person or thing, you might have sudden lust for someone or be infatuated by someone but it takes time to for love to develop. I don’t believe in this love at first sight sort of thing, you might be suddenly attracted to this person and feel a sudden spark, but I don’t believe you can love someone right when you meet them. Love works in mysterious ways and you never know when it’s going to come and bite you. Someday we will all become infected with love and it will change our lives!