LOVE

So, what is love? This is a question that crosses every human being's mind that feels emotions. Remember this is in the opinion column, you may agree or disagree with whatever you read, but that’s the fun part. Some say love is a construct: a fake theory we all persuade each other to live up to. Others say it’s dangerous and can bring emotional danger to the people around us. Some also say it's the best feeling and what motivates us to get up and start the day. It seems like what people do is compare who or what they love the most, rank them and hold that promise until it doesn’t satisfy them, nothing related to the definition of love. Some say it’s a feeling, a mystical emotion, for someone/thing like they’ve never felt before. The flaw is that feelings are fluid, not a very strong foundation for a definition, and sometimes you hate the person you love. Sometimes love can lead to an obsession, one that tells us what’s right or wrong, conditioned or not, safe or dangerous. Look at the story Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare. Romeo loved Juliet so much that when she supposedly died, he drank poison to kill himself with because he couldn’t live without her. So how do we determine what love is with all these different points of view? Let's ask people with different personalities, characteristics, and beliefs on what they think love is.

     First, I asked a 10th grade student, Mason Volin, the most who thinks “love is when you have a closer connection with somebody, like being able to experience growing spiritually and emotionally. Mason claims “I love my family the most because one, there is my family, and two, I live with them, they’re a mainstate for me in my life, they’re always supporting him, and helped me grow into the person I am now”. Mason shows love for them by cleaning the house, showing physical affection like hugging, and buys them gifts that remind him of them. 

     Lastly, I’m grabbing an opinion from an introverted, 11th grade student, Jocelyn Agapito, who thinks “love is just a stronger version of like”, as in having a deeper connection with other people, objects, or feelings. Who Jocelyn loves the most is Nabi, a female tuxedo cat she considers her child because Nabi was the first pet she owned. How Jocelyn expresses her love to Nabi is by babying her, giving her lots of attention, and spoiling her with favorite treats. This is a great example that people don’t need to be passionate to love, it’s what you do for love that matters and why you do it. And that love doesn’t always have to be extraordinary or astounding, but it can be a feeling of carness and appreciation to one. 

     So, what can we determine what love is with these three different povs? Well if you expected some long answer, claim, evidence, reasoning, you’re right. Love is everything. It’s what we do with the love we have, it’s why we love, it’s how we love, etc. You can love someone with/without hugging or kissing, you can love baking and learn how to get better, you can love with whatever you have. You can also love your friends, parents, siblings, significant others for whatever reason you may have. So there’s really not a complex answer to “what is love?”, because everyone will have different opinions and beliefs based on who they are, what they believe and how they feel about it. We all have to learn not everyone's the same, and to live with the love we can have and receive. Love all and love you.