LOVE?

    Love. I ask myself what is love? And why is it that that word gets thrown around like a volleyball on a hot summer day at the beach? At age 17, I do not know anything about love except the unconditional love I have for my family because that love is undebatable, and undeniable. But what is that love that so many people seem to refer to as they start to grow older and begin to grasp the meaning of life? That is something I am still trying to figure out. 

    So many teenagers these days, including my friends, claim they “love” their boyfriend or girlfriend. I think it’s hilarious that they automatically assume this teenage crush is “love.” I know, I know, who am I to judge one’s relationship and who am I to put an age limit on “love?” The truth of the matter is I don’t have a say on what’s love and what’s not. But I think too often we forget that love is supposed to be an amazingly beautiful aspect to life. So when that word gets tossed into the air, it aggravates me. Its meaning gets lost in the crowd of NYC because it is used way too often.  

    Too often teenagers live in a box where the little holes for them to survive on is their only glimpse of reality. But life is too precious to have love be taken for granted. I believe love is not a gift, but rather a privilege. And when people take advantage of that privilege, it does not become a privilege anymore but rather an everyday thing that just magically is part of life which is NOT the case at all. 

    I think a lot of young teens, especially girls, want this “love” so badly that they’ll go through extremes just to achieve it. Nobody wants to be alone in this cruel, dark world that we live in and nobody wants to go through life’s struggles without a companion, so we constantly strive to find the person best associated with the word “love.” And although it may seem somewhat sad, it’s painfully true. We grow up reading fairytales and watch movies with happy endings but how does that fit into our not-so-perfect world? We satisfy ourselves with this hope for finding love but I think love is not meant to be found. Love is meant to be experimented and love is meant to be expected unexpectedly. 

    I wish more people knew how much love means to me, although I myself can neither define it nor can say I’ve experienced it. The beauty of it is the fact that it can not be seen or distinguished because its form is an invisible coat of transparency.  It’s lack of physical appearance makes up for its emotional attachment. The power of love overshadows all obstacles in life and it is known that love conquers all. But until I can witness it first hand by using my heart as my eyes, I  am not able to say that I agree with its potential to absorb me into its madness.  

    I truly believe that you can’t find love because love is supposed to find you. So stop looking because most likely you’re looking at the wrong places to begin with. When you least expect it, love will come knocking on your door and don’t say I didn’t warn you. Everybody deserves it and someday it will come to us all, but until then, embrace what life has to offer and when it occassionally throws lemons at you, just make lemonade and call it a day.